28 Oct How to Review Bathroom Needs Before a Hospital Homecoming
Safety Notice: This article offers general home-preparation tips and is not a substitute for the discharge instructions given by the patient's care team. Follow the care team's guidance on movement, bathing and wound care. If the person falls and is hurt, cannot get up, hits their head, or develops new confusion, chest pain or trouble breathing, call 911.
Your mom is due home from the hospital on Friday, and the discharge nurse has just mentioned that she'll need help with the toilet for a while. You picture the narrow bathroom at her house, the low seat and the towel rack she always grabs, and you're not sure where to start.
The bathroom is often the room where a homecoming needs changes, and it's also where rushed purchases go wrong. A short review, built around the discharge plan and the person's real routine, tells you what to fix before Friday and what can wait until you know more.