Home Assessment

Summary of Recommendations Based on Home Assessment

My patient is a 35-year-old male who was involved in a motor vehicle accident. His left lower extremity received a great deal of trauma and had to be amputated below the knee. The patient has been receiving rehab services in an outpatient facility and is almost ready to return home. He has not yet received his prosthesis but has been ambulating successfully with axillary crutches. The patient will be returning home to his wife and 2 young children.

The bedrooms and bathroom are on the second floor of the home and laundry facilities are in the basement. None of the interior doorways are standard width; neither is the entrance into the back door and into the kitchen from the back entry. Since my patient will be using crutches and not a wheelchair, he will be able to ambulate through these doorways.

Upon inspection of the home, (please see attached document) the following recommendations are being made.

• Add bilateral hand railings to the steps at the back entrance
• Add bilateral hand railings leading to the basement
• Add a small table in the front entry
• Add grab bars in tub/shower
• Extend the chain on the ceiling fan light in the living room for easier reaching
• Remove throw rug in living room
• Add handrail on right side of wall leading upstairs

None of these modifications should be very expensive and will make it easier and safer for the patient to ambulate throughout the house, take a shower and ascend and descend interior and exterior stairs.

If my patient was to implement more expensive solutions, in addition to the above improvements, I would recommend the following:

• Widen all of the interior doorways to 32" vs. the current 27-29" widths
• Widen the back door entrance to 32"
• Replace the back and front cement steps and install better railings for the front entryway