At 0700, the nurse reviews Mrs. L's discharge record. Mrs. L says that Vietnamese is her preferred healthcare language and that she cannot discuss medicines safely in English. Current findings include temperature 36.8 C, heart rate 78/min, respirations 16/min, and oxygen saturation 98 percent on room air. The record shows admission documents completed through her son because the qualified-interpreter line had a 30-minute wait and prebreakfast glucose 142 mg/dL after resolution of the acute crisis. During rounds she gives repeated yes responses without explaining the plan in her own words. Her support network includes an adult son living 30 minutes away who visits several times weekly, but when asked about low glucose, her son says she understands without interpreting a patient explanation. The chart lists Vietnamese education materials available in the hospital library, yet there is no independent insulin or glucose-meter demonstration documented before today's planned discharge. A primary-care follow-up appointment is already entered for next week. Mrs. L is alert, lives alone, and will use glargine nightly and lispro with meals when eating.
At 0700, the nurse reviews Mrs. L's discharge record. Mrs. L says that Vietnamese is her preferred healthcare language and that she cannot discuss medicines safely in English. Current findings include temperature 36.8 C, heart rate 78/min, respirations 16/min, and oxygen saturation 98 percent on room air. The record shows admission documents completed through her son because the qualified-interpreter line had a 30-minute wait and prebreakfast glucose 142 mg/dL after resolution of the acute crisis. During rounds she gives repeated yes responses without explaining the plan in her own words. Her support network includes an adult son living 30 minutes away who visits several times weekly, but when asked about low glucose, her son says she understands without interpreting a patient explanation. The chart lists Vietnamese education materials available in the hospital library, yet there is no independent insulin or glucose-meter demonstration documented before today's planned discharge. A primary-care follow-up appointment is already entered for next week. Mrs. L is alert, lives alone, and will use glargine nightly and lispro with meals when eating.