Palliative Home Care: 5 Supplies & Equipment Ideal For Visiting Family Members
Instead of spending weeks or months in a hospital, palliative care provides a way for patients to get support through a serious illness in their own home. Doctors, nurses, and other health professionals visit on a daily basis to provide medical help, pain relief, and general care for a patient. Along with the medical staff, it's important for family members and friends to visit with the patient. When setting up a home for palliative care, there are numerous pieces of equipment to buy or rent to help with all of the medical needs. Along with equipment and supplies to directly help the patient, there are five different things that can be purchased to make family visits more comfortable and accommodating. Consider adding one or more of these items to help with extended stays and overnight visits.
Communication Boards
Being there for support is important, but it can be frustrating when a patient cannot effectively communicate with a family member. One way to help with this is by using a communication board. Instead of using a plain white board, a communication board has dozens of preset options that can be simply pointed to or checked off with a dry erase marker. These boards are easy to handle and can allow a patient to communicate things like feelings, pains, and special requests. It can help bridge the communication gap and really allow family members to bond and spark different types of conversations.
Personal Protection Kits
When a patient is dealing with a serious illness, the immune system may be low and precautions are likely going to be made to help prevent the spread of disease and infection. Family members can still visit by purchasing personal protection kits. These disposable kits come with face masks, full body gowns, gloves, and shoe covers. This allows a family to easily visit their loved one without spreading any germs both ways. The protective nature of the kit can allow a loved one to stay longer and feel safer knowing that both they and the loved one remain protected.
Doorbell Signaler
During palliative care, a patient may be limited on movement or placed permanently in a hospital bed. If this is the case, then a doorbell signaler can help prepare them for any guest arrivals. When the doorbell is rung, it can be wired through the signaler so that more than just a sound is produced in the home. Instead, the signal is attached to any lamp and creates a blinking light effect. This simple device can help alert a patient that a family member has come to visit. From there, the family member can enter the home or be allowed in through different devices like buzzer or signal.
Shampoo Basins
A number of family members that come to visit will want to help in any way possible. While medical care should be left up to the professionals, family members can help with the basic cleanliness of a patient by purchasing and using a shampoo basin. The basins are basically large portable sinks that allows a person's hair to be washed. Family members can assist the patient by washing their hair in the basin and providing some basic grooming techniques. This is a great way to supply a little extra support for family members that feel like they are not doing enough to help.
Guest Seating & Sleeping
When a lot of family members come to visit, it's important to have plenty of room for sitting and resting. Placing multiple chairs around the hospital bed can provide easy ways to sit, relax, and communicate. For family members staying multiple days, you can even purchase multiple hospital bed cots in the same room. This provides extra sleeping space and quick access to the patient if it is needed.
By working with palliative care specialists, you can have all of the equipment and supplies set up at the home in a matter of days. This will make it a lot easier to visit and have all the items that are needed.
For more information and options, talk with a company that specializes in palliative care and medical supplies, or visit websites like http://cornermedical.com/.
