Post-Hospital Stay Expectations
Discharge Plans
Before you leave the hospital, you and your family will work with your healthcare team to determine the best rehabilitation setting. Factors to consider include your needs, what insurance will cover, and what is most convenient for you and your family. Options after discharge may include:
- Returning to your home where you may receive homecare therapy services (1-7 visits a week depending on the discipline)
- Returning to your home and then traveling to an outpatient therapy center (eg. hospital) for therapy services (2-3 therapy sessions per week depending on the discipline)
- Moving into a skilled nursing facility where you may receive on-site therapy services (1-5 therapy sessions per week depending on the discipline)
- Moving into an assisted living center where you may receive homecare or on-site therapy services
- Your Discharge Plans
- Home Modifications
- A Change in Your Routine
- Tips for Family Members and Care Partners
Before you leave the hospital, it's important to make sure that your home is ready for your arrival. See below for recommendations.
Some health insurances cover the cost of equipment so it's important to ask your healthcare team while in the hospital.
Home Modifications
After a stroke, you may need to modify your home environment to be more accessible and fit your needs. Check out these modifications that can be made in different rooms of your home to help you achieve independence in your daily activities!
Kitchen Modifications
- Roll-under sink and stove for wheelchair accessibility
- Over the stove mirror to see contents of pots and pans while seated
- Consider labeling food items and storage containers to make it easy to find the items you are looking for
- Use a Lazy Susan with baskets on the countertop or add it to cabinets to reduce clutter and keep items organized so you can easily access them
- Side by side refrigerator for easy access to both the fridge and freezer to prevent reaching high and losing balance
- Add a stable cart with a heat-resistant cutting board on top near the stove to place dishes when they are hot to prevent spills and burns
Check out our "Home Management" page for adapted cooking and eating utensils and our "Home Safety" page for techniques to prevent falls in the kitchen!
Bathroom modifications
- Non-slip bath mat to prevent falls
- Hands-free motion sensor soap dispenser for those with limited hand movements
- Roll-under sink and vanity for wheelchair accessibility and for those who need to sit while getting ready due to impaired balance, fatigue, weakness, etc.
Check out our "Self Care" page under the Lifestyle tab for more modifications and adaptive devices for bathroom use related to toileting and bathing!
Bedroom Modifications
- Consider hanging clothes on a closet rack or rail so they are easily accessible and you don't have to open and close cluttered drawers
- Use cord covers for loose cords in the bedroom, such as by phones, tvs, and lamps, to prevent tripping
- Addition of bed rails to help with balance and support when sitting up and getting in and out of bed
- Add a night-light in your bedroom to help you navigate and prevent falls if you need to get up in the middle of the night
Check out our "Home Safety" page for techniques to prevent falls in the bedroom and our "Self-Care" page for adaptations to help you with getting dressed!
For more information about home modifications you can make after a stroke, explore the following resources:
- https://www.saebo.com/blog/home-modifications-may-be-required-for-stroke-survivors/
- https://www.flintrehab.com/home-modifications-for-stroke-patients/
- https://www.strokenetworkseo.ca/sites/strokenetworkseo.ca/files/modifying_home_after_stroke_july_2005.pdf
- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/best-tips-for-adapting-your-home-after-a-stroke/
Home Safety Evaluation
A home fall-prevention checklist to help you prepare for a smooth and safe transition to your home.
Click on this link to complete a home safety checklist
A Change in Your Routine
Returning to your home or moving into a new home can be stressful for you and your family members. Family and marriage roles may change. Adjusting to this change takes flexibility and patience for everyone. When you focus on things you don't have control over, you are going to feel more helpless. It's important to take one day at a time and celebrate your daily and weekly accomplishments together. It's also important for your family members to take time for themselves, to focus on their own self-care. Check out this video on how others adjusted their routine and are living their best life after stroke.
Video source: Heart and Stroke
Family members and care partners may feel confused as to how best to manage a new routine. Check out this link from Sheppard Center on TIPS FOR CARE PARTNERS
Page last updated 06/2021