Patient Teaching Guides
1. Maintain good lighting in all living areas.
2. Have hand rails on both sides of stairs.
3. Hand rails in the bathroom can be helpful when sitting down or getting up from a toilet, or getting in and out of the tub.
4. Carpeting should be wall-to-wall or tacked down. Avoid throw rugs.
5. Wear nonskid shoes and slippers.
6. Use nonskid wax on hardwood, tiled, or linoleum floors.
7. Keep toys and other clutter off floors.
8. Make sure electrical cords are out of the way.
9. Try to keep furniture in place as it is familiar - avoid frequent rearranging.
10. Use nonskid bath mats in tubs and showers.
11. Have a phone within easy reach.
12. Have a call bell in reach so that your loved one can call for assistance when he/she needs to get up.
13. Use night lights in the bedroom and hallway.
14. Clean all spills as soon as possible.
15. All canes, crutches, and walkers should have nonskid tips.
16. Lock wheels on bed or wheelchair when getting in or out.
17. Keep the bed in a low position except when giving care.
18. If you have a hospital bed, keep the rails up at all times, except when giving care.
1. Keep matches out of reach.
2. Never leave a confused or disoriented person at home alone.
3. Turn pan handles on the stove so they do not point outward.
4. Supervise smoking. Provide ashtrays when smoking is allowed. Do not smoke when oxygen is in the room. Wet ashes before throwing them in the garbage. DO NOT ALLOW SMOKING IN BED!
5. Set the hot water heater temperature no higher than 120 degrees F.
6. Be sure water faucets are clearly labeled hot and cold.
7. Keep portable heaters at least 3 feet away from people and objects. Never dry clothes on heaters.
8. Install smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Check detectors each month and change batteries at least every 6 months.
9. Keep a flashlight near the patient's bed for use in an emergency.
1. Be sure that all medicine containers and household products are clearly labeled.
2. Make sure there is enough light to accurately read labels.
3. Store all products, including medicines, in their original containers.
4. Store medicines and cleaners in a high, locked cabinet if children are in the home. Also, have childproof caps on all medicine containers and household products.
1. "No Smoking" sign on the door.
2. Concentrator placed at least 6" from walls, draperies, and furniture.
3. Check cord for damage.
4. Outlet properly grounded.
5. Extension tubing not exceeding 50 feet.
6. Alarm functioning.
7. Aware of prescribed flowmeter setting.
8. Air intake filters removed and cleaned weekly - rinsed under running water, dried, and replaced.
9. Exterior cabinet wiped with mild cleaner and soft cloth.
10. Tubing free from kinks/restrictions.
1. Plan at least 2 ways out of your home from each room.
2. Pick a meeting place outside the home.
3. Post your plan where everyone can see it.
4. Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
1. Throw out or repair frayed or damaged electrical cords.
2. Never overload outlets.
3. Unplug appliances when not in use.
4. Use only UL tested and approved appliances.
5. Keep electrical appliances away from sink, tub, and shower areas.
1. Keep electrical cords secure to prevent tangling and possible falls.
2. Keep electrical equipment away from water.
3. Inspect cords and outlets routinely.
4. Do not allow children to play with equipment.
5. Store unused equipment, such as wheelchair or portable oxygen tanks, out of the way, especially at night.
6. Do not smoke, or permit anyone else to smoke, when oxygen is in the home.
7. Do not store supplies on the floor.
8. Make sure bed and wheelchair brakes are locked when attempting to get up.
Report any problems immediately to Hospice of Hope.
1. Wash your hands before and after you touch the patient;using soap and water ;creating friction by rubbing your hands together. (Water should be as warm as you can comfortably tolerate.)
2. Wash your hands after urinating or having a bowel movement.
3. Wash your hands before handling or preparing food.
4. Wash fruits and vegetables before serving them.
5. Encourage each family member to use his/her own towels, washcloths, toothbrush, drinking glass, and other personal care items.
6. Cover the nose and mouth with tissues when coughing, sneezing, or blowing the nose. Make sure there is a plastic or paper bag for used tissues.
7. Use disposable cups and dishes, if possible, when an infection is present.
8. Practice good personal hygiene. Bathe, shampoo hair, and provide oral care on a regular basis.
9. Encourage patients to wash their hands often. They should wash their hands after using toilet and before eating.
10. Wash cooking and eating utensils with soap and water after they have been used.
11. Clean cooking and eating surfaces with soap and hot water or a disinfectant.
12. Do not leave food sitting out and uncovered. Close all food containers. Refrigerate food that will spoil.
13. Do not use food that smells bad or looks discolored.
14. Check the expiration date of food. Do not use it if the date has passed.
15. Keep the kitchen and bathroom clean.
16. Change water in flower vases daily.
17. Remove dead plants and flowers from the home.
18. Dust furniture with a damp cloth and use a damp mop for floors, if there is no carpet. This helps prevent the movement of dust in the air.
19. Empty garbage every day. Use large, sturdy plastic bags or wrap the garbage in several thicknesses of newspaper. Place the garbage outside the home. If possible, put the bags in plastic or metal garbage containers.
20. Wear disposable gloves if you have open sores or cuts on your hands. The hospice nurse can get these for you.
21. Hold equipment and linens away from you.
22. Do not shake linens. This also helps prevent the movement of dust.
23. Clean from the cleanest area to the dirtiest. This prevents soiling a clean area.
24. Clean away from body and clothing. Dusting, brushing, or wiping toward yourself transmits germs to your skin, hair, and clothing.
25. Pour contaminated liquids directly into sinks or toilets. Avoid splashing the liquid onto other areas.
26. Do not sit on the patient's bed if the patient has an infection. You will pick up germs and carry them to the next surface where you sit.
27. Wear disposable gloves when you have contact with body fluids. This includes when giving enemas, cleaning the genital area, handling vomitus, and giving mouth care.
28. Wear a disposable apron/gown when you will be in contact with the patient's body fluids.
1. Keep the client's laundry items, such as sheets, gowns and underwear, separate from the rest of the family's laundry. Place a separate, closed collector near the bedside. Carry this collector to the washing machine and place laundry into the washing machine directly from it.
2. Wash wet or soiled laundry items as soon as possible. Wash in hot soapy water, and thoroughly rinse and tumble dry on a hot setting. Add 1 cup bleach to the water when laundry is soiled by body secretions.
3. Large amounts of excrement, such as stool, should be rinsed from sheets or clothing first before placing in the wash.
If you have any other particular concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to call your hospice nurse.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIV AND AIDS
If you are going to be caring for someone with HIV infection, you need to understand the basic facts about HIV and AIDS. AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). People who are infected with HIV can look and feel healthy and may not know for years that they are infected. However, they can infect other people no matter how healthy they seem. HIV slowly wipes out parts of the body's immune system; then the HIV-infected person gets sick because the body can't fight off diseases. Some of these diseases can kill them.
Signs of HIV infection are like those of many other common illnesses, such as swollen glands, tiring easily, losing weight, fever, or diarrhea. Different people have different symptoms.
HIV is in people's blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. The only way to tell if someone is infected with HIV is with a blood test.
There is no vaccine to prevent HIV infection and no cure for AIDS. There are treatments that can keep infected people healthy longer and prevent some diseases that people with AIDS often get. Research is ongoing.
HIV slowly makes an infected person sicker and sicker. Diseases and infections will cause serious illness, but people often get better--until the next illness. Sometimes, HIV can damage the brain and cause changes in feelings and moods, even make it hard to think clearly. Some with AIDS can feel fine in the morning and be very sick in the afternoon. It can seem like riding a roller coaster, slowly climbing up to feeling good, then plunging down into another illness.
How HIV is Spread:
The most common ways HIV is spread are:
o By having unprotected anal, vaginal, or oral sex with someone infected with HIV
o By sharing needles or syringes ("works") with someone who is infected with HIV
o From mothers to their babies before the baby is born, during birth, or through breast-feeding. Taking the drug AZT during pregnancy and birth can reduce the chances of infecting the baby by two-thirds, but will not prevent all babies from becoming infected with HIV.
Earlier in the AIDS epidemic some people became infected through blood transfusions, blood product (such as clotting factors given to people with hemophilia), or organ or tissue transplants. This has been very rare in the United States since 1985, when the test for HIV was licensed. Since then, all donated blood and donors of organs or tissue are tested for HIV.
Health care workers, such as nurses, risk getting infected if they are stuck
with a needle containing infected blood or splashed with infected blood in the
eyes, nose, mouth, or on open cuts or sores. In a few cases, a person sharing
a house with a person with HIV infection or taking care of a person with AIDS
has become infected themselves. These infections may have been caused by sharing
a razor, getting blood from the infected person into open cuts or sores, or
some other way of having contact with blood from the infected person. If you
are taking care of a person with HIV infection, please contact your nurse for
additional steps on protecting yourself from infection.
How HIV is Not Spread:
You don't get HIV from the air, food, water, insects, animals, dishes, knives,
forks, spoons, toilet seats, or anything else that doesn't involve blood, semen,
vaginal fluids, or breast milk. You don't get HIV from feces, nasal fluid, saliva,
sweat, tears, urine, or vomit, unless these have blood mixed in them. You can
help people with HIV eat, dress, even bathe, without becoming infected yourself,
as long as you follow the steps your nurse can give you. You do get other germs
from many of the things listed above, so do use common sense.