Assessing Your Resources Since the objective of home care is to keep your home life as normal as possible while still providing you with quality medical care, the first step to effective home care is taking a good look both at the support available to you and at the physical layout of your home.
Home care requires a willingness of family and friends to accept the responsibility of helping you on a sustained basis. Some key questions have to be answered.
• How much time can your family and friends spare?
• How will they balance providing support to you with their work and other responsibilities?
• If more than one family member will be providing care, can a rotation schedule be worked out?
• Will infants or growing children make other demands that will have to be met?
• Can each caregiver have enough free time to maintain his or her own physical and emotional well-being?
In the home, you and the home care planner should look closely at the physical setup. You'll have to pay special attention to the bathroom and bedroom, the location of stairs and the space available for extra equipment. You might have to get rid of scatter rugs or small objects on the floors. Railings might have to be installed and rubber strips attached to the tub and shower to prevent slipping.
Equipment The planner will also help you decide what equipment you will need. Commonly needed aids include:
