How to Care for Geriatric Patients at Home
Geriatric patients are often challenging to care for at home. Despite this fact, home care is often preferable to residence in a facility. The senior and his family must make the decision together. In order to care for an elderly person at home it is necessary to prepare and implement a well thought-out plan of action and to put a support team in place.
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Instructions
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Determine the length of time care in the home of the geriatric person is going to be needed. For example, an elderly person may only need short term care if he is recovering from an illness or accident; in cases where there is chronic illness or disability, long term care may be required.
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Convene a family meeting with the senior in order to plan and prepare for care at home. Gain input from everyone in terms of how the needs of the elderly person will be met. In some cases a primary care giver will be selected from the family with the others acting in a supporting role. The family may also need to decide if a full or part-time nurse or aide will be needed.
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Gather important information from the geriatric patient to facilitate situations in which the data may be needed. Keep a log with the patient's social security number, health insurance information, list of medications, names and phone numbers of physicians and pharmacies.
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Keep a record of all doctor and therapy visits. Log the date of each visit, what was accomplished, any new prescriptions and follow-up appointment information. Keep all x-rays and test results in this record as well.
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Set up the house to facilitate geriatric care. Depending on the situation you may need to install a wheelchair ramp, a hospital bed, oxygen tanks or bathroom safety products such as a shower chair. Ask medical professionals for recommendations to what might be needed.
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Gain knowledge regarding all the geriatric person's health problems so you can give them the best care possible. This information can be helpful in letting you know what to expect with certain conditions, and it can clue you in to current research and new medications which may be available.
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Take a look at financial resources. Determine what funds the elderly person has available for medical care and what the family in general can contribute. You may need to seek out financial help from community resources. Schedule an appointment with your local social service office to find out what is available.
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Communicate extensively with the geriatric patient. It is common for caregivers to forget the patient has her own opinions and ideas. This can happen due to the focus on meeting physical needs. Remember that the senior's mental and emotional health is essential to her well being.
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Tips & Warnings
Develop a routine with geriatric patients that are serious ill or disabled. Routine is comforting to an ill patient.
Plan for the long term. Remember that situations change and you need to be as prepared as possible. Try to anticipate what will be needed as the geriatric patient ages.
