HONOLULU (KHON2) — Knowing how to keep a loved one safe in their home after coming home from rehab can be pivotal in their transition back to the familiar.
There is a service that can help caregivers plan well ahead of time.
“That kind of affected the walking and mobility,” Ryan Hagihara told KHON2.
A fall landed Hagihara’s mother-in-law in rehab for 10 days.
Their next challenge was bringing her home.
“I think the biggest concern was, is the house ready?”
It is common for the family to have anxiety around bringing home the loved family member.
Kauhale Smooth Transitions was there to help.
“There is a whole lot more that goes on when you bring someone home. It wasn’t really on my radar until my dad fell,” Lynne Nohara-Kido of Kauhale Smooth Transitions, LLC told KHON2.
Nohara-Kido uses her background in physical therapy to assure family members can carefully and confidently care for their loved ones at home.
“Her bedroom, her bathroom, living room, kitchen area. They did a walkthrough with us just to see what areas needed to be tended to,” said Hagihara.
Nohara-Kido assessed the entrances, terrain and furnishing around the house to decide what areas could be used to make entrance into the home and things that would be better moved elsewhere.
“The reason they need to know what’s going on and proper knowlege is to prevent further injury,” said Dr. Kent Yamamoto, a physiatrist.
There are a number of things that a caregiver can do now to assist a mobility-impaired loved one.
“One of the best things is looking for clutter. Things that would trip you–throw rugs, anything on the floor, even pets can be a trip hazard. Other things they can do is lighting. I think lighting is huge especially when you get up,” Nohara-Kido said.
“Our anxiety subsided after that,” Hagihara said, “knowing that we’re in a good place and headed the right direction.