In Home Elder Care Steps to Follow for Bedbound Seniors
If your eldery parent is in bed or in a bedroom most or all of the time, you need to set up his or her room for days of dining and entertainment, as well as for safety. Below are steps to follow to assists seniors when they are in this situation.
* Make sure your parent is situated on the same floor as a bathroom that is close to his or her bedroom. If this is not possible, buy a commode for his or her room.
* It is best that your parent's bedroom has a good size window with a view, or bright pictures on the wall.
* Arrange the room so there is a sitting area for visitors, and for your parent if he or she is not bedbound. For instance, have a chair or two, a reading lamp, and a table near a window or in front of a television set.
* Place a table near the bed where he or she can store all the day's needs. For example, magazines or books, pills, a water glass and pitcher, a lamp, a telephone, a radio, writing paper, a clock, a calendar, remote controls, etc.
* Set up a television so your parent can watch it easily, and make sure he or she has a remote control.
* Buy a large pillow for sitting up comfortably in bed. Another option is finding a medical Supply store and purchasing some large triangular shaped foam cushions that are designed for propping people up. It would be good to supplement this with regular pillows.
* You can buy or rent all sorts of equipment to make bed rest more manageable. For example, you can get an electric or manual hospital bed, side rails for getting up or turning over, a trapeze above the bed to grab and pull up on, a hospital style table that slides over the bed, wheelchairs, and walkers. Medicare may cover some of the cost for these items.
* If the house is large, put a monitor by the bed so your parent can call for someone. Or buy a telephone with an intercom. If he or she lives alone, make sure there is a phone by the bed.
* Stock some nonperishable foods by the bed. You might even buy a miniature refrigerator for his or her room or load up a cooler with food each morning if you're away much of the day.
Source:
"How To Care For Aging Parents" By Virginia Morris