How to Care for an Elderly Nonresident
Providing care for an elderly person living outside a nursing home can be addressed through the home health care system, taking advantage of support offered by the government, private agencies or family members. This is called nonresident elderly care. The trend in the U.S. is to help people remain as independent as possible by continuing to live in their own homes while receiving some outside support. These support needs are ideally identified by patients with the help of family members and guidance from social workers. When family members are not available to help with decisions, agencies can assist patients.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Current assessment of needs
- List of family resources
- List of community resources
Instructions
-
-
1
Review the most recent assessment of the patient for the environment where the patient plans to live. If a patient is in the hospital waiting to be released back to his home, you may assess his most obvious and immediate needs based on his abilities in the hospital. This assessment can cover mobility, daily living needs and communication concerns.
-
2
Compile a list of family resources, using this list to help the patient make decisions about support options that might involve help from relatives. Ideally the family will be able to provide some weekend care if needed, while also encouraging community involvement.
-
-
3
Develop an estimated timeline of the patient's typical day. Note activities, and the physical or mental abilities required for each. For example, a patient may bathe when she awakens each morning. To do this she will need to have the ability to rise from her bed, walk to the bathroom, lift her foot high enough to get into the tub, twist shower knobs and so on.
If the patient is not able to walk, you will need to find a way to help her get from the bed to the bathroom. A wheelchair may be an obvious choice. Next you would visit her home to determine whether she will be able to navigate a wheelchair through her living area. If not, you will need to determine the barriers and decide how to adjust obstructions to accommodate the chair.
You will also need to get input from the patient. If she is not comfortable using the chair, you will need to find alternate ways to help the patient bathe, either by enabling her to get to the bathroom or by securing attendant care to assist her with the morning bath. -
4
Compile a list of community resources that will be available to the client, based on the needs assessment and the timeline you compiled. These resources can include family members who are willing to help for free--or for a fee, attendant and homemaker care services, as well as home nursing services. You will also need to identify funding sources to pay for these services.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Provide only the care a patient is willing for you to provide.
Do not pressure patients into accepting services they indicate would make them uncomfortable.
