They Are Coming Home From the Hospital: The Setup Checklist
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Discharge planning usually gives you less notice than you expect, and it almost always lands on a Friday. This is the order to do things in when you have two days, not two weeks.
Do these before they walk in the door
- Clear one route. Front door to bed to bathroom. Rugs up, cords out of the way, furniture moved so a walker can turn.
- Light that route at night. Plug-in motion lights at floor level in the hallway and bathroom. This is the cheapest fall prevention there is.
- Measure the doorways on that route — open the door, measure face-of-door to the opposite stop. Write it on your phone. You will need it for everything you buy later.
- Decide where they sleep. If the bedroom is upstairs and the bathroom is down, that is the single biggest problem to solve, and it may mean a temporary bed downstairs.
The bathroom, in priority order
- Something to sit on in the shower. A bench or chair with a 300 lb+ rating, feet that actually grip.
- Something to hold. A properly anchored grab bar — see the height guide before drilling.
- A raised seat or a frame at the toilet, if standing from low is the problem.
- A handheld shower head so they can wash sitting down.
Anything they will pull their body weight on — grab bar, bed rail, handrail — has to be anchored to hold 250 lbf. Towel rails, soap dishes and suction bars are not grab bars. If there is no time to install one properly before discharge, plan on hands-on help in the bathroom until there is.
What to ask the discharge team while you still have them
- Weight-bearing status — can they put weight on that leg, fully or partially?
- Are stairs allowed, and how many?
- Has an occupational therapist done a home assessment, and can they?
- What equipment is being sent home with them, and what are you expected to supply?
That last question is where most families get caught. Hospitals often send a walker and nothing else.
What can wait a week
Ramps, stairlifts, doorway widening, bathroom remodels. These matter, but none of them are a two-day job and none of them should be bought in a panic. Get the first week safe, then measure properly and decide.
This is home-setup guidance, not medical advice. Anything about their recovery, weight-bearing or medication belongs with their doctor or an occupational therapist.