Yes. An in-home caregiver may provide appropriate non-medical help with bed and chair transfers when the task has been assessed, included in the care plan, and can be completed within safe handling guidelines.
Not every transfer is suitable for one caregiver. New weakness, inability to bear weight, significant pain, recent falls, or the need for lifting equipment may require evaluation by a healthcare or rehabilitation professional.
Caregiver help getting out of bed may include supervision, positioning assistance, steadying support, and help moving into a standing or seated position when the task is appropriate for a non-medical caregiver.
Similar support may be provided when a parent needs help:
The caregiver should not simply lift the person’s full body weight. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health explains that moving and handling people can expose caregivers to injury and that safe patient-handling practices may include assistive technology.
Families can learn more about mobility and transfer assistance for seniors and broader activities of daily living assistance for seniors.
Safe transfer assistance for seniors is determined through an assessment of the person, the movement required, the environment, and the caregiver’s authorized scope.
Important considerations include:
A family member or agency should not assume that a transfer is safe based only on how it worked previously. Abilities can change after an illness, injury, hospital stay, or period of reduced activity.
Nana Cares’ personal care services in Indianapolis may include appropriate transfer and mobility support when the task fits the assessed non-medical care plan.
An elderly transfer equipment assessment may be needed when the person cannot bear weight, requires substantial lifting, has unpredictable movement, experiences significant pain, or cannot complete the transfer with the level of help available.
Clinical or specialized guidance may also be appropriate when:
MedlinePlus notes that a person who cannot use at least one leg during a bed-to-wheelchair transfer may require a lift. Equipment selection and operation should be addressed by an appropriately qualified professional.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also recommends organized safe-patient-handling practices rather than relying on unassessed manual lifting.
Contact a healthcare or rehabilitation professional when transfers are new, painful, worsening, or connected to a fall. Call 911 for an immediate emergency or serious injury.
To arrange in-home transfer assistance, begin with a detailed needs assessment. Describe the exact movement your parent needs help completing rather than requesting general mobility support.
Be prepared to discuss:
Families arranging post-hospital home care in Indianapolis should share all discharge and rehabilitation instructions with the appropriate providers.
Nana Cares does not provide physical therapy, clinical mobility assessments, unsafe manual lifting, or transfers requiring unapproved equipment, multiple staff members, or skills beyond the approved caregiver scope.
Nana Cares LLC offers free needs assessments for Indianapolis-area families concerned about bed, chair, bathroom, or routine transfers.
The team can review your parent’s current routine, mobility, environment, schedule, care instructions, and safe handling needs. Nana Cares can then explain whether the requested support fits a non-medical Personal/Attendant Care plan and whether an appropriate caregiver match is available.
Compassionate, non-medical in-home care for seniors and adults with disabilities across Central Indiana.
Nana Cares provides personal care, homemaker services, companion care, respite care, and overnight support with a warm, professional approach.