Setting Up the Home

By Laurie Fronek, Staff Writer

Caregiving can go more smoothly with a home setup that supports everyone’s needs. The bottom line for most people is safety: How can I arrange things so that my loved one can navigate with the least risk of injury? Convenience is important, too. Make it easy for her to do as much as possible independently and easy for you to give help if needed.

Beyond the basic desires for safety and convenience, we want physical and psychological comfort in our homes. So think about aesthetic pleasures, too. What makes the home nice to be in? How can you bring in items that are meaningful and appealing to your loved one?

For everyone’s sake, try to keep the house as normal as possible. For many of us, the kitchen, living room, or family room is the center of household activity. It’s the area where we gather to see each other and conduct family business. Try to preserve the home’s hub and to include your loved one in what happens there.

Here are a few ideas for keeping the home’s common areas accessible to your loved one.

Clear a pathway between key rooms, such as the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. If your loved one walks, place sturdy furniture or install handrails throughout for support. Read more about making the home safer for someone at risk of falling.
Set up a comfortable, appropriate seat for the patient in key rooms. For instance, make space in the dining room to pull up a wheelchair to the table, and designate a recliner in the living room where you keep pillows and blankets for him when he comes to sit there.
Have a caddy or sturdy bag with comfortable handles to easily transport items, like a water bottle, book, and medicines, to another part of the house.

Choosing and Arranging the Bedroom

Your loved one will need a bedroom, of course, and not only for sleeping. At some points in her illness, she may spend most or all of the day in bed. Consider whether it makes sense to maintain her usual bedroom. Again, safety and convenience can guide you. Is the room safely and easily accessible for her and for you? Perhaps it makes more sense to move to a different bedroom or to use part of another room, like the family room. You might be able to screen off one section with a curtain.

Think about which room will be both practical and pleasing. Having your loved one on the first floor near the center of household activity cuts down on the running you have to do. It also keeps her involved in family life. Choosing a spot near a window means you have easy ventilation. It may also provide a pleasant view.

Talk with the patient about the options. Ask what seems most comfortable and workable. Describe what you think will work and why. Try to choose a room and setup that suit you both.

The Bed Itself

Will your loved one have a hospital bed or a regular bed (perhaps the bed he’s already used to from home)? A hospital bed has some advantages. Usually, the whole bed can be raised up and down easily. For instance, you can raise it when you want to give a massage or a bath and lower it when the person wants to get out of bed. The head and foot of the bed usually adjust independently, which helps with comfort. Side rails help keep the occupant from rolling out.

On the other hand, staying in one’s own bed (or any bed that doesn’t look like hospital furniture) can be comforting. Side rails can be added, and a footstool can help the patient get in and out.

Whichever type of bed you have, here are some ideas for positioning and preparing it.

Elevate the mattress to the height of your hips, so bedside care is easier on your body. If the bed doesn’t have a height adjustment, try placing a second mattress or box springs under the main mattress, so it’s easier for you to reach.
Keep the sides of the bed away from the walls for easier sheet changes.
To protect the mattress, use a plastic sheet or mattress cover under the bottom sheet. For incontinence, add an absorbent underpad (plastic side down) on top of the bottom sheet.
If the mattress is not firm enough to provide support, slide a piece of plywood under it. The plywood should be the same size as the mattress.
To relieve pressure, place an egg-crate foam pad or a sheepskin pad on the mattress.

Other Furnishings

Besides the bed, these furnishings may make the room more comfortable and may simplify caregiving.

Nightstand within reach for glasses, books, framed pictures, and other personal items that are important and pleasing to the patient. (Keep a calendar and clock here, too, for orientation.)
Cart with wheels to hold items like toiletries and medicines, so they don’t clutter the nightstand.
Comfortable chair, such as a recliner, if your loved one can leave bed. Choose one that’s easy to get in and out of. To make this easier, place pillows on the seat so it’s higher.
Guest chairs for visitors.
Shades or curtains that can shut out light for daytime naps.
Television or stereo with remote control.

Whatever you include in the room, arrange furniture so it’s easy for the patient to take care of himself as much as possible.

Have These Handy

Life may be easier with these items close at hand, near the bed.

A way to alert you in another room, such as a baby monitor or intercom.
Telephone with important medical and personal phone numbers on speed dial or on an easy-to-read list.
Tray that can stand on the bed over the person’s legs or that swings in from the side to provide a surface for eating and writing.
Walking aid, such as a cane or walker.
Plastic trash bins in case of vomiting and for tissues or other garbage.
Hand towels for wiping the face or cleaning up spills.
Sets of clean sheets, ready for the next changing.
Extra blankets for warmth and pillows for cushioning.
Space heater and fan to keep the temperature comfortable.

Making the Bathroom Easier to Use

Bathrooms get slippery, increasing the risk of falls. These devices may make it easier to get around in the bathroom safely.

Nonslip mats on the floor and in the tub or shower.
Handrail to hold when getting on and off the toilet.
Raised toilet seat.
Bath chair in tub or shower.
Transfer bench installed on the tub. This allows a person to sit down outside the tub, swing the legs into the tub, and slide into the water.
Shower curtain rather than glass doors.
Hand-held showerhead with a flexible tube.
Grab bar in tub or shower.

If your loved one cannot make it to the bathroom, provide her with a bedside commode, a bedpan, or a urinal designed for use in bed. In these circumstances, you might also provide a screen for privacy.

Whether or not your loved one can use the bathroom for bathing and grooming, the following items will be helpful.

Caddy for soap, washcloth, razor, and other toiletries that can be brought into the tub or to the bedside. A separate caddy can be used for cosmetics and hairstyling products.
Mirror that doesn’t have to be held and is positioned at the right height.

Tips for Creating a Pleasant Space

Your loved one will be your best guide for creating a soothing space in which she can reside. Ask her what she’d like. If she’s open to your ideas, offer suggestions. The goal is to try to increase her sense of comfort and the quality of her life.

Keep in mind that these ideas can work in a hospital or other residential care setting as well as at home. Here are some possibilities to consider.

Provide access to entertainment. Set her up with a TV, music player, favorite movies and music, and books or audio books.
Add healthy houseplants or fresh-cut flowers to beautify and brighten the room. (Hospitals or similar care facilities may have restrictions on live plants or flowers for health reasons. In this case, artificial plants can be a substitute.)
Display photographs of friends, family, and favorite events, activities, and places.
Include objects or images that symbolize faith, strength, and inspiration for your loved one. These could be souvenirs from travels, mementos from childhood, or objects from nature.
Bring in artwork that she likes, especially if there’s a favorite piece she’s used to having nearby—anything from a grandchild’s drawing to a professional painting.
Hang cards or signs with well wishes.
Provide comfortable bedding using her favorite pillows, sheets, and blankets.
Find out what colors she wants around her. They can affect mood, perhaps energizing or calming her. Accommodate her choices if you can.
If the patient cannot readily go outside on her own, try to give her a comfortable spot to sit or rest where she can see outside. Or bring nature to her—seashells, pine cones, and branches can decorate the room.
Give her earplugs and a comfortable sleeping mask so she can snooze undisturbed whenever she feels like it.
Consider aromatherapy, scenting the room with natural, soothing essential oils instead of artificial perfumes. (Some hospitals and residential settings don’t allow scents, so be sure to ask about policies.)
If it’s possible to open a window, and the outside temperature allows it, offer her fresh air as much as possible.