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Walk the House

Start of Care · Episode 6

Walk the House

A loose rug, a dark hallway, no grab bars and a smoke alarm that doesn't beep.

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Key takeawayWalk the whole houseThe start-of-care visit includes a home safety check: walk the routes the patient uses, day and night. Look for loose rugs, clutter, poor lighting, stairs without rails, missing grab bars, and smoke alarms that don't work. Agree on fixes with the patient, teach, refer to therapy when needed, and document what you found and what was done.

In this scene

Carmen: We walk the whole house, the way Frank does at night. Start right here.

Brian: A loose rug, a walker, and this light's too dim. That's a fall waiting to happen.

Carmen: And no grab bars by the tub or the toilet. He just had hip surgery.

Watch the episode to see what happens next.

Questions to think about

  • A home safety check means:
  • A loose rug in the hallway of a patient with a walker is:
  • The smoke alarm doesn't work. You:

About this series

For home health nurses and therapists: the start-of-care in-home assessment. Timing, patient rights, homebound status, an accurate assessment, every medicine in the home, home safety, caregivers and emergency plans, screening, the patient's own goals, and closing the loop with the physician. Follow your agency's policies and the Medicare Conditions of Participation. See the whole series

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