Signs That a Loved-One May be Needing Home Care
There are a number of signs indicating that a person may need personal assistance in the home.
This checklist is intended to assist you in identifying if there is an immediate need for care. Review the checklist and if you identify that any of these changes have occurred, you should arrange for a consultation about home health care.
We can assess the situation and advise you or your loved on about available options.
Changes in Personal Care and Mobility
- Difficulty with bathing, improper grooming or lack of proper hygiene
- Incontinence and improper or incomplete bathing/cleansing of self and home
- Forgetting to eat, not eating nutritious meals, sudden weight loss or lack of hydration
- Increasing unsteadiness and/or falling down, or trouble getting out of a chair
- Difficulty doing laundry, dishes, and doing grocery shopping
Changes in Health Care Status
- Mismanagement of medications, confusion about what to take and when.
- Recently diagnosed with life altering or chronic illness
- Recently discharged from hospital, or going home after surgery
- Frequent hospitalizations or trips to the Emergency Room
- Recent physical impairment, including stroke, loss of limb or other major injury
Changes in Life Management
- Trouble paying bills or handling correspondence, or changes in purchasing patterns
- Unable to use the telephone or does not answer the phone, or respond to messages
- Expressed need for help at home, things becoming too much too handle
- Leaving the stove or other appliances on, letting bathtubs or sinks overflowing, creating safety hazard
Changes in Attitude/Behavior
- Sadness, loneliness, isolation, or confusion
- Appearance has changed/deteriorated
- Sudden mood swings, anger, anxiety or depression
- Getting lost easily or starting to wander
- Difficultly understanding others/remembering names or situations and locations
Changes in Family Situation
- Recently lost a spouse or primary support/caregiver
- Caregiver works and cannot respond to the client's needs on a regular basis
- Family is overwhelmed by client's circumstances
- Family is in conflict over how best to meet client's personal needs
- Caregiver or family is geographically distant or has recently moved farther away from client
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