Our main goal as therapists is to get the most independence for someone as possible. It seems pretty straight forward. Sometimes we just get so caught up in safety and being protective that we forget to let go.
It starts simple …..someone is living home at maximum independence and suddenly something happens. It could be a fall or an illness. But something makes them have a hospital stay.
Even with the physical aliment that they attain, they might have had some cognitive issues also at home but still lived and performed well in their home atmosphere.
Oh no to the hospital
So something happens that sends someone to the hospital. A fall with or without injury, an infection, or an exacerbation of a chronic disease.
So in the bed in the hospital they go for at least 3 days. All with the focus on what they came in for. Unfortunately with a side of deconditioning.
Next step is a stint in the SNF for rehab.
Rehab stint
So we start off with being as precautions as possible. They need help and usually alot until we get some strength back.
Always telling them to call for help with everything. This includes going to the bathroom, getting in and out of bed, using a wheelchair. This can even mean using a mechanical lift or having 2 staff members for transfers.
Sometimes we get so caught up in being as safe as possible we miss out on some opportunities to see if they are ready to return home.
We have trouble transitioning to move freely with minimal assistance. We don’t allow the chance to either be successful or to fail. Sometimes we forget that we are sending them home and if something happens it would be better to trial in the SNF with 24 care around versus being home and possibly alone with minimal to no oversight.
Trust your judgment and skills
We need to focus more on giving more freedom to move and allow them to trial in a safe environment. We need to trust that we have done our best to make them as strong and safe as possible.
We also need to realize that even with supervision some people are just going to make poor decisions. We cannot stop every incident from happening. So give some freedom and let your patient soar or fail. They deserve the chance.
