Creating a Healing Space: How to Turn Your Home into a Care-Friendly Environment
You have made a compassionate decision to care for a loved one at home. Now you want to find ways to make them safe while making your home comfortable for your whole family.
Here are a few ways we recommend turning your home into a care-friendly environment—one where God’s peace can lead to healing.
Start with Prayer
Before you make any plans, invite the Holy Spirit to guide you in your decisions. Ask for discernment and wisdom to know which options are the best for your loved one. Remember that your hospitality is an act of sacrifice to the Lord that should be done out of love. This will put every other detail into its proper perspective.
Safety and Accessibility
Take a fresh look at your home. Kind of like childproofing, creating a safe medical home includes looking for hidden dangers. Here are some of the most common things to consider:
*Remove tripping hazards such as loose rugs and cluttered hallways
*Install grab bars where getting up and down will be routine (mostly bathrooms)
*Keep frequently used items within easy reach to prevent falls from bending or stretching
*Plan where potentially hazardous materials will go (e.g. used syringes, oxygen tanks, medications)
Small changes can prevent accidents and bring peace of mind for the whole family.
Create an Inviting Space
It is common that your medical setup will keep your loved one in a specific area of the home. Simple changes can make a large difference in both safety and mood. Things to think about:
*Color—if possible, paint the room a soothing color such as blue or green. Soft blankets or pillows can also be nice if paint is not an option.
*Layout—arrange the furniture to take in a beautiful view or be conversational
*Light—no one likes the feel of hospital lighting. Open the windows or find some lamps to provide warmth in the space
*Decor—surround your loved one with pictures of family, scripture, or books to pass the time. Plants are also wonderful but please be careful of allergies.
*Cleanliness—health concerns bring special attention to our housekeeping abilities. You might need to rethink pets, smoking, or frequency of chores.
Remember safety and accessibility are a high priority. These changes need to be made with care and caution, avoiding clutter.
Create a Space for Connection
It is easy to get run down by the endless tasks involved with caregiving. You need to remember there was a reason you chose to bring your loved one into your home—mainly to spend more time together. Designate a spot in the home where everyone can feel free to enjoy a cup of coffee together or play a game.
Make Room for Rest and Renewal
This one is specifically aimed at the caregiver. Make a space in your home where you can find rest. Use this space to pray over your family and find refreshment in God’s presence. It is important to let Him fill your cup to overflowing so that you can pour out that love on your family.
Creating a care-friendly home is not about perfection. It is not about competing with your neighbors or even require you to have the best equipment available. It is about a home filled with joy and peace, while providing loving care. The relationships built within the walls of your home have eternal impact and they are a reflection of your heart.
Bonus Material: here are a few things my family did before we brought my daughter home from the hospital after heart surgery. See if anything works for you.
Rearrange living room furniture to make room for oxygen supplies. The tubing can be a trip hazard, so think through where it has to run through the house. We set up our large medical supplies in the living room because we spent most of our time there.
Medication station in the kitchen. Every morning I prepared medications for the whole day. Some had to be kept in the fridge, so they had a special bin the other kids weren’t allowed to touch. We also washed and reused A LOT of syringes. Those were placed on their own drying rack so the family didn’t need to be careful with dishes at mealtime.
Medical supplies in the closet. My daughter’s closet was the perfect place to keep all the extras we wouldn’t need as frequently. We got some plastic bins (easy cleaning) and stacked up things like alcohol prep pads, boxes of new syringes, oxygen tubing, and gauze pads. It was easy to see at a glance what we were getting short on, which made ordering medical supplies much easier.
I hope some of this helps! Love to all my caregivers out there. You are in my prayers.
