Our Toileting and Continence Services
A key component of our extensive home care services is our toileting and continence care. At Impactful Home Care, we assist you or your loved ones with your bathroom needs, so you can continue to live comfortably at home, away from the cold and bare walls of assisted living facilities.
We’re aware these services are critical. That’s why it’s our priority to ensure these services are accessible to you. These long-term, home care services may be covered by a variety of payment methods, including the Pennsylvania Caregiver Support Program, the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (a Medicaid state program), veteran benefits, and select private insurance plans.
Dignified Toileting Assistance
It’s not easy for many of our clients, especially those experiencing new challenges, to ask for toileting and continence assistance. It’s embarrassing.
Some clients wear colostomy bags. Other clients may involuntarily urinate at night due to their health conditions. These clients can be horrified at the thought of having our personal assistants help them with what they believe to be shameful or unbearable tasks.
Our professional caregivers know these tasks aren’t burdens but a natural part of a medical condition. They assure clients there’s no shame in these meaningful tasks, and the clients’ goals are to focus on their health.
Also, the aides always respect the client’s privacy by implementing the following:
- Treating each task with professionalism.
- Providing maximum privacy whenever possible.
- Using respectful, non-judgmental language during interactions.
- Knocking before entering a client’s room.
- Explaining each step before starting the step to ensure the client understands what’s happening and gives consent.
Attentive Continence Care and Scheduling
Our professional caregivers are also vigilant in reducing the number of continence incidents from occurring by creating a personalized continence routine.
This care plan takes the following into consideration:
- Looking for patterns: Monitoring when clients normally use the bathroom and noting any triggers that cause bathroom use.
- Making a schedule: Developing a bathroom schedule based on the observed toileting pattern to help predicate bathroom use.
- Modifying diets: Identifying and managing dietary triggers. Also, encouraging fiber intakes to promote bowel movement and support bladder health.
- Creating easy bathroom access: Making sure clients have an easy time getting to the bathroom and implementing bathroom modifications, such as raised toilet seats, grab bars, and improved lighting.
- Check-ins: Consistently asking the client if the program is working to determine if changes need to be made.
This vigilant care can reduce a client’s discomfort and prevent infections.
Skin Care to Avoid Infections
Poor toileting hygiene may cause skin infection. It’s important for our personal aides to frequently inspect clients’ skin to see if there are any skin breakdowns, infections or discomfort.
Such skin monitoring includes:
- Routine skin checks to look for any red flags of skin infection.
- Documenting anything that’s unusual about the skin’s condition.
- Being aware and knowing how to limit risk factors.
Aides should also use advanced hygiene routines frequently when overseeing their toileting and incontinence care, including keeping the skin hydrated and moisturized.
Managing Continence Devices and Supplies
Our skilled caregivers are also experienced in helping clients manage continence devices.
Some of these duties can include changing a patient’s pull-ups or diapers, cleaning out catheters and colostomy bags, and placing chucks (absorbent and waterproof pads) where clients may be sitting to prevent any accidents.
Our personal assistants also provide hygiene assistance with this equipment. This includes frequently cleaning the skin around external devices to avoid irritation and infection, regularly changing devices to keep patients comfortable, and keeping track of continence supplies.
