They are discharging your parent from hospital — what to do now

One of the hardest points on the whole path: the parent is hospitalised after a stroke, a fall, or a crisis, the staff announce a discharge in a few days — and the ward's social worker asks "where to". It happens fast, under pressure. This page explains the steps and the rights you have precisely at this moment — this is not medical advice.

How much time you have

Usually little. So it is worth starting to clarify the rights while the parent is still hospitalised, not after the discharge. Do not wait for the formal notice to begin.

The fork: rehabilitation, home, or a care setting

• Rehabilitation — focused recovery (for example after a stroke or a fracture). This is a medical right; the decision and the referral are medical, and the funding is through the health fund (קופת חולים, kupat cholim).
• Home with support — with home-care services, a caregiver, and adaptations to the home.
• A nursing setting — when the condition requires close care that cannot be provided at home.

What you are entitled to

• The right to rehabilitation — responsibility for rehabilitation lies with the health fund. Under Ministry of Health Medicine Administration circular 4/2009 (sections 6.5–6.6), the hospital's decision on rehabilitation is passed to the health fund and to the patient and the family at least 2 working days before discharge, and the fund's representative must answer at once and no later than 2 working days. Clarify it with the fund even before the discharge.
• The health fund's liaison nurse in the hospital (at Maccabi: "אחות קש"ב"; at Clalit: "אחות הקשר") — coordinates the continuation of care within the fund, for example rehabilitation at home or at an institute, or a referral to a unit for continued care. Ask about her before the discharge.

What you can apply for

• A temporary permit for a foreign caregiver — this is not an entitlement. You can apply for a temporary permit to employ a foreign worker, for at most three months, to keep care continuous after the discharge. It is issued at the discretion of the Population and Immigration Authority, requires a medical diagnosis from the hospital, and allows employing only a foreign worker who is already in Israel (a worker cannot be brought from abroad on this permit).

Which settings in the catalogue

The link below filters the catalogue to settings on the nursing-medical track — a factual filter, not a ranking. The specific match is yours, after checking availability and visiting.

Sources

• Ministry of Health — circular 4/2009, criteria for rehabilitation of the elderly (in Hebrew)
• Ministry of Health — geriatric rehabilitation
• Population and Immigration Authority — temporary permit for a caregiver after discharge from hospital
• Maccabi — rehabilitation at home, coordinated by the liaison nurse (in Hebrew)
• Clalit — home-care and continuation-of-care unit, referral from the hospital liaison nurses (in Hebrew)
• Kol Zchut — a guide for a person who has become nursing-dependent
• National Insurance Institute — long-term care benefit and rights
• Portal guide: how much a care setting costs and who helps fund it
• Scenario: when your parent can no longer manage at home