When Everyone Works Together: The Essentials For Organizing Care At Home Successfully
Helping someone you care about at home, whether it is a spouse, child or parent, is an expression of great love. Providing care at home can be stressful; however, a single person cannot do everything. Planning ahead by communicating clearly and having the right equipment will greatly improve the quality of the care provided by the whole family.
When a family works together as a unit, providing care to another member of the family results in much higher-quality care.
In this article we will be discussing how to develop a successful team to coordinate care. We will be covering the most important topics: communication, Scheduling and tools/equipment. Developing a coordinated effort will reduce stress for everyone involved.
Developing a Central Hub for Communication (a “Command Center”)
There is nothing worse than misunderstandings arising due to lack of information sharing. Miscommunication leads to missed medication doses and/or failed appointments. Establish a common area where all family members and professional caregivers can share information.
Many families today have started to use digital applications for real-time coordination. Consider using an application specifically designed for this purpose. Endless text messages and phone calls will continue to occur until you choose to stop them. All of the medical history and daily activity records can remain in one convenient location.
Ways to Share Important Information:
- Develop a group calendar for all scheduled appointments.
- Create a daily record of all meals consumed and amount of liquids drank.
- Develop a list of all current prescribed medications taken.
- Store all discharge paperwork and doctor notes in one file/folder.
- Create an emergency message only chat forum for urgent medical issues.
- Have all primary healthcare provider contacts available for reference.
Also, consider a short weekly meeting to identify potential problems in the future. This way there is never any doubt as to which family member is responsible for what task. In addition, planning ahead is key to reducing chaos in any caregiving situation.
Creating a Coordinated Home Care Environment
A well-organized bedroom environment is crucial for providing safe home-based care. Both the patient and caregiver should benefit from the organization of the space. Patients should have an unobstructed path to move through the room and caregivers should be able to easily perform their duties without obstructions.
One of the main concerns many families experience when considering purchasing professional grade equipment is the cost. Many times they assume that purchasing the equipment would be cheaper than renting. However, renting provides access to top-of-the-line equipment at approximately half the cost of buying new. Properly positioned beds enable safer position changes and facilitate ease of transfer.
Benefits of Using Professional Grade Medical Beds:
- Allow caregivers to elevate heads and feet of patients with ease.
- Protect caregivers’ backs during activities such as transferring patients.
- Provide additional reassurance to the patient via integrated rails.
- Enable specialized mattresses to promote healthy skin and patient comfort.
When selecting a hospital bed rental, you want a company like MedEquip Solutions that fully understands the urgency associated with home-based care. Local suppliers are familiar with the layout of the GTA. Therefore, local suppliers can efficiently travel to deliver your rented equipment on time. Additionally, if your rented equipment develops a mechanical problem, local technicians are readily available to repair or replace it on site.
Characteristics to Seek in a Rental Company:
- Transparency related to pricing including no hidden charges.
- Adhere to high sanitation practices for all equipment.
- Provide prompt customer service for resolving problems or answering inquiries.
- Ensure professional installations and conduct a comprehensive safety inspection prior to releasing the equipment for use.
Therefore, when searching for a reliable hospital bed rental GTA supplier, thoroughly research and review local reviews. Suppliers that prioritize patient safety above making a quick profit provide quality products.
Improving Patient Mobility and Independence
Independence is critical to maintaining a mentally healthy patient. Small amounts of mobility can have a positive impact on a patient’s overall well-being and morale. Thus, investing in mobility aids is beneficial.
Renting a lift chair is an effective alternative for patients experiencing weakness in their legs. Lift chairs smoothly tilt the user forward, allowing the user to safely stand up. As a result, users feel more confident in their ability to get up independently and require less manual assistance throughout their day-to-day lives.
Lift Chairs Enhance Quality of Care:
- Reduce risk of falling when transitioning from sitting to standing positions.
- Provide smooth and controlled motion through its motorized mechanism.
- Offer patients a comfortable resting place and elevated position for daytime relaxation.
- Relieve caregivers of some of the physical burdens associated with assisting patients getting up from seated positions.
Consider renting a lift chair after surgery to prevent excessive exertion. By doing so, you will minimize risks associated with premature mobilization. Ultimately, ensuring safe movement is paramount in any home-based care plan.
Creating a Schedule & Reducing Burnout Among Caregivers
At some point, every caregiver requires rest and relief from being constantly responsible for caring for another individual. Burnout affects not only the caregiver but also impacts the entire family. Henceforth, it is necessary to include “relief” time within the caregiver’s weekly routine.
Create rotating shift patterns that grant each caregiver at least one full day per week free from caregiving responsibilities. Also, consider contracting local professionals to assist with heavy-duty tasks (i.e., bathing) so family members can focus on providing emotional support rather than solely relying on physical support.
Methods for Precluding Family Fatigue:
- Implement a primary-secondary caregiver rotational model.
- Designate at least two hours per day as non-caregiving time for each caregiver.
- Explore local respite care options to temporarily alleviate caregiver burnout.
- Recognize when you are feeling physically or emotionally exhausted and communicate those feelings clearly.
By creating breaks within a caregiver’s schedule, caregivers will maintain high levels of quality care. Rested caregivers are generally more patient and attentive caregivers.