Many of you know that my mother-in-law was recently placed on in-home hospice. I am her primary caregiver and let me tell you what, if anyone needs hospice care in the Amarillo area, Odyssey is wonderful! They have been super kind and communication is wonderful.
As with any caregiver situation, caring for the elderly, kids, anything, you need organization to keep communication lines open. AT mom's house I have a binder. Inside this binder I have tabbed dividers and all of the most important information. At the beginning I have her patient information and medication information. You can download copies by clicking the links below:
http://www.4shared.com/file/lJpPMlaX/Patient_Information.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/yXOi6biw/Medication_Information.html
Then I have a tab for her POA, DNR, and Advanced Directive. Then I have a tab for hospice, I have hospice information there. Any handouts they give me, contact numbers, a list of who our caregivers are, etc. The next tab is "Final Arrangements". Just as it sounds, this tab has paperwork from/for the funeral home, copies of the poems she wants read, anything that makes everything easier when she goes Home. Then I have the "Calendar" tab. In this tab I have printed calendars for the rest of the year. This is where I write who is coming what days, any appointments, like taking the dog to the groomer, etc. I also write a smiley face on the days she has a real good day and a sun on the days we go outside.
The next tab is the most important, it's the daily log. Where I keep track of her blood sugar, insulin, temp, weight, blood pressure and meals. I also write out in the margin if she has had a bowel movement that day. You can download that form by clicking the link below:
http://www.4shared.com/file/Ten8_6uN/Diabetic_Log.html
The last tab is "Misc." and behind it I have a spiral notebook. In this notebook, I can write notes to the nurses, and they to me. They can leave items on the shopping list, or ideas, suggestions or whatever. Helps keep everything in order.
I hope this helps someone out!
As with any caregiver situation, caring for the elderly, kids, anything, you need organization to keep communication lines open. AT mom's house I have a binder. Inside this binder I have tabbed dividers and all of the most important information. At the beginning I have her patient information and medication information. You can download copies by clicking the links below:
http://www.4shared.com/file/lJpPMlaX/Patient_Information.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/yXOi6biw/Medication_Information.html
Then I have a tab for her POA, DNR, and Advanced Directive. Then I have a tab for hospice, I have hospice information there. Any handouts they give me, contact numbers, a list of who our caregivers are, etc. The next tab is "Final Arrangements". Just as it sounds, this tab has paperwork from/for the funeral home, copies of the poems she wants read, anything that makes everything easier when she goes Home. Then I have the "Calendar" tab. In this tab I have printed calendars for the rest of the year. This is where I write who is coming what days, any appointments, like taking the dog to the groomer, etc. I also write a smiley face on the days she has a real good day and a sun on the days we go outside.
The next tab is the most important, it's the daily log. Where I keep track of her blood sugar, insulin, temp, weight, blood pressure and meals. I also write out in the margin if she has had a bowel movement that day. You can download that form by clicking the link below:
http://www.4shared.com/file/Ten8_6uN/Diabetic_Log.html
The last tab is "Misc." and behind it I have a spiral notebook. In this notebook, I can write notes to the nurses, and they to me. They can leave items on the shopping list, or ideas, suggestions or whatever. Helps keep everything in order.
I hope this helps someone out!
5 comments:
Hi Kaci:
I just found your blog through The Caregiver Survival Network. I struggle with organizing. My 18 year old daughter has several congenital heart defects, a rare, incurable lung disease called pulmonary aterial hypertension, general anxiety disorder, OCD, and benign hypermobility joint syndrome.
I am going to check out your links but just wanted to say I'm glad I ran across your blog.
Hugs:o)
Jane
"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
Thank you Jane. We lost mom almost two years ago and I miss her every day. I am so thankful I had that time with her. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Hi Kaci:
I'm sorry about your mom. I didn't realize that she had passed away. I want to see your form and the link takes me to the site I click on view document the box pops up for a split second then another page comes up saying that the file isn't valid. You can press download but I don't want to download something without seeing what it is.
Can you tell me if I'm doing something wrong.
Hugs:o)
Jane
"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and stronger than you think."
I'm not sure, I will look at it tomorrow and let you know.
Jane,
I hadn't had any downloads of those forms in a while so they had deactivated my account. I fixed it, so you should be able to download them now.
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