My experience with a walk in tubs, or a Hemi, was in the assisted living and home-health setting, for clients’ of the company I worked for in college. The Hemi was a walk-in tub, which the residents used. This system, allows the person to bathe in a position that is supposed to reduce the risk of falling in a bathroom, shower or tub.
Another experience with walk in tubs:
-Is the walk in tub used to reduce the risk of fall, due to what circumstances?
Some seniors I have worked for use the system, because they had a low Activity of Daily Living (ADL’s) as prescribed by a nurse and team of coordinators. The Activity of Daily Living is a tool used to measure our ability to thrive on our own.
Other seniors prefer to use a walk in tub, for comfort. The job at this time, was to assist the resident, by assisting them undress, transfer, clean if necessary, dry and dress with fresh clothes. The term ASSIST, had many meanings. Some residents are full assist and require two caregivers. They are in a wheelchair, most likely, or are recovering from some incident and are hopefully FOLLOWING a recommended plan of rehabilitation.
Most walk in tubs, I have seen, are in a large size bathroom. Though, that does not mean it can’t be used in a regular full bathroom.
If possible, actually, it is a must, that we continue to follow the recommendations of the physical therapist, nutritionists and physicians who believe in maintaining our health for our best interest. Is it possible that two grab bars, installed on the front wall and side wall, will suffice? With the one on the front wall, going vertical, and the side grab bar installed at HIP LEVEL, going horizontal.
Is a shower chair an option? In Home-Health, the care manager is responsible for assisting the resident in the shower. I have installed about 30 shower chairs of one kind or another and found that wide, stable ones work well. Another example of assisting the resident does include, making sure the skin is dry, and I mean completely dry. This is the job of Home Health business, to make sure this quality of care is occurring and that any changes in skin are being documented, no matter where the care is being given.
Walk in tubs are one solution we use to reduce the risk of fall in the senior living arena. In home health, make sure you budget maintenance cost, clean the bath tub often, and make sure the seals are clean and not cracked. In the assisted living arena, we made sure to assign and check off when it was cleaned, because walk in baths and tubs are expensive. $4000.00 is equal to 200 man hours at $20.00 an hour. This is one factor to consider. Do we pay for the assistance, or do we seek outside assistance? What is the senior’s choice and is it affordable?
Great post. I had a experience with one of the assisted living home. They provide good facilities at a minimum cost. They provided me with eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, laundry, and housekeeping.
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