Home health aides / lifting 83-yo dad

[Anonymous]

If you want to keep him home, you need a hoyer lift - insurance might help with payment depending on his coverage and the unit can be rented, too - and you need to be trained to assist the home health aide whenever possible because Hoyers are dangerous to use without TWO people, residential facilities have policies in place that prohibit CNAs, LPNs, RNs, orderlies from using the Hoyer without another staff for assistance. Everyone can get hurt otherwise.

Dad probably also needs a hospital bed in the home at this point, if he doesn’t have one already. You didn’t mention how heavy of a dead weight he is, but with so many people being larger these days even into their elder years, the risk of injury to health aides (who are low paid and often have zero benefits) is huge, pun intended. Sure worker's comp will pay on injury, but it’s paltry in the face of a back injury that can end a nursing career and/or begin a pain meds dependency. Please don’t be cavalier about wishing the home health aides would just suck it up and lift your dad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We faced this too. He needs to be in residential. There is no getting around that. It is a huge liability issue.

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Get a Hoyer lift. Those are essential and home health aids are good at using them. They are the safest way to lift an elderly person.