Hb went into hospital for 4 days because of heel sores. Then released to rehab. Those hospitalized 4 days caused him to lose his ability to walk. Rehab have to drag him and then you can see that he really doesn't even try to walk. I may be able to have him released to the residential facility (he has been placed there since 2013.) if he can be moved by one person. Only one aide for 6 residents. Medicare may furnish a hoyer lift. Is it easily used by one person? I am at a loss with all of this.
I would be surprised if each resident of the LTC facility had his own personal Hoyer lift. The facilities I've seen have their own lifts, which are used by whoever needs them. I don't know if Medicare pays for that. (A lift would not help in my husband's facility, which requires two people to transfer if a lift is used.)
I sympathize with your husband. Losing the ability to walk during a hospital stay is awful. A couple of years ago my mother, who was ambulatory at age 97, lost the ability to walk after being forced to sit in a hospital bed for 5 days and she ended up in a nursing home rehab for more than two weeks.
Hb has been in rehab for 2 wks already and no improvement so he has to leave the 15th. I have a friend who took care of hb at home with a Hoyer lift and she did it alone so perhaps there are different types?
Hb has severe dementia and they are saying the brain just isn't giving the legs the signals anymore. One day I saw him cross his legs. Doesn't that take a signal?
Even if a person cannot walk, they can often be transferred by one person. My mother - who did not have dementia - could do that during her temporary inability to walk and a friend who did have dementia and who was permanently unable to walk was also able to transfer with one person's help. Is rehab telling you that your husband needs two people? Did the LTC facility tell you they would not take him back unless he could be moved by one person? And did the LTC facility tell you they did not have a Hoyer lift and ask you to provide your own? Maybe some of the nurses on this board will see your post and share their expertise.
Usually when a patient requires two to transfer it is part of the criteria for nursing home placement. You will need to talk with your residential facility to see what level of impaired mobility they can handle. In home care, a Hoyer lift is frequently used to enable one person to transfer the patient. (Thus avoiding needing a two-person transfer, which might make nursing home placement necessary.) In residential facilities, for reasons of safety and liability for the facility, they may insist on two aides using the Hoyer together to do the transfer. Again, you need to talk with your facility. They should be able to coordinate with the Rehab to make sure your husband's mobility is absolutely maximized, and then decide whether they can still provide the care. If they have the staff and capability to handle a Hoyer case, they should also either have or obtain their own Hoyer. If it does end up billed to your husband, Medicare should cover it as DME.
Every staff member who is going to Hoyer the patient should be officially trained in an inservice on its use. You don't want one aide helpfully showing the other aide how to do it, etc. And if you're going to Hoyer him, Shirley, make sure you've been trained, too. Probably you (and/or the aides) should see a training video, then Hoyer a pillow, a doll, each other...before Hoyering the patient. It's one of those things that's not all that convenient, but not that hard once you know how.
Shirley, My husband has to be transferred with the Hoyer lift. A few days ago I stayed to watch them put him in bed because I was curious how it worked. There were two aides but I know that it can be done with only one as they have done it while I waited outside of his room until he was in bed. I have not seen them get him up so can't comment on that but I think one person can do it. They have a mesh apparatus under him and it hooks altogether and hooks on the lift and hydraulically lifts patient up or down, it also seemed to support his head and didn't cause him any distress that I could observe. I do think that one should have instruction on using it. There are several residents on hb's wing that have to be hoyered. They have one unit for that wing and i think one for each wing. Hope that his facility can do that so you can keep him there. Changes are so difficult for AZ patients. Good luck. (I think we are both in Mich so we are under same rules for these things)