Hello. I'm Shawn Bennis,
coordinator of Henry Ford Health Systems Care Program for family caregivers.
We know caregiving is a challenge,
so the care program staff here at Henry Ford designed the caregiver binder to
help make caregiving easier for you. The caregiver.
We worked with physicians, pharmacists, nurses, physical therapists,
and the group of patient advisers to design a binder that is effective for the
whole care team. Take your binder to doctor appointments,
physical therapy,
the hospital anywhere you might need information about the person you care for.
Now let's take a look at the binder.
The very first page is four essential information about the patient name,
medical record number and insurance information.
You can get the medical record number from a document like an after visit
summary from an emergency room visit,
doctors appointment or hospital stay. It is also usually on doctor bills.
Look on the patient's insurance cards for their information.
Next for some tips for how to use the binder, a table of contents,
and then the calendar pages. You can print the calendar on our website,
Henry ford.com forward slash family caregivers.
Scroll down near the bottom of the page and click on the gray tab.
Binder refills. If you need assistance,
give us a call at (313) 874-4838.
Now there are eight sections with tabs in the binder.
Each tab is actually a pocket folder for anything you want to Tuck in that
section. The First Section,
important contacts is where you can keep the doctor's phone number and contact
information for everyone on the patient's care team.
This is very helpful if anyone needs to reach the doctor or another caregiver.
There's also a very handy plastic sleeve where you can put business cards,
anything from doctors and home care services to pet sitters.
The next section is health history and labs.
The first page is the patient medical history form.
This information is great to give a new doctor or a new caregiver or in case of
a trip to the emergency department.
If you need to take your loved one to the emergency room.
Don't forget to grab the binder.
The next page in this section is a plastic sleeve to keep lab results.
Print them from Henry Ford. My chart or other health providers.
If you need help with my chart,
there's a phone number in there that you can call.
The next tab is medications.
We've put another plastic sleeve here where you can put a list of all the
patient's medications. Don't forget to update the list when medications change.
There are several charts in this section which we will review.
You may need to use all the charts, but they are there for you if you need them.
The first chart is the medication tracking chart.
Put the name of the medication in the first box,
fill in the rest of the information and use this chart to write down when the
patient received the medication. There is an example to help you.
The next page is the daily irregular medication list. This is for medication.
The person takes regularly every day along with information about how much,
how often to take it and what it is. For the next page.
You can keep track of as needed. Medications like cold medicine,
pain relievers, antacids,
the occasional non daily medications the patient might take if you order
medications for your loved one. The next page will save you time.
When you need a refill.
You can keep track of how and when to order it and how much it costs and who
prescribed it.
The next pages in this section have some good information to review about
medications and how to dispose of them when you don't need them anymore.
Let's move on to the next tab. Charts.
These charts will help you and the patient's care team keep track of blood
pressure, blood sugar, weight and steps.
Walking is a great exercise. The last page is a blank chart.
Use it for anything you need to keep track of.
Some caregivers use it for bathing and personal care, sleep or symptoms.
It has lots of uses.
The next tab is resources and it's an important one for you.
The caregiver caregivers need to have backup and other people who can help out.
You'll notice we've put a card about our support groups for caregivers in the
packet. These groups are free and meet in many locations.
We've included a directory of resources that Henry Ford offers that are
especially helpful for caregivers.
This next section is called Q and a.
Because caregivers need to ask a lot of questions and they have a lot of answers
to remember.
This section will help you remember what to ask and what the answer was.
Use the questions for the Dr. Page to keep track.
We also included some examples of questions you might think about asking your
doctor or other members of the patient's care team.
The next page is for patients to document their health goals.
Whatever that goal is to be able to play with grandchildren.
Take a yoga class or lose weight,
your loved one can write it here and then talk to the doctor about how to meet
that goal. The next section is advanced directives.
This is a form that allows a person to write down the type of medical care most
important to them and to name their patient advocate.
You can also put a durable power of attorney for healthcare guardianship papers
and organ donation instruction. In this section,
use the packet folder or better I handy three hole punch for these kinds of
papers. Finally, the last tab is for a make your own section.
Everyone has unique needs. If your loved one has a pacemaker,
discharge instructions from the hospital or disability paperwork,
put them here. You can use it for anything that doesn't fit in another section,
but you want to keep in case you need it later. Again,
a three hole punch is a great way to put these in the binder. That's it.
I hope this has helped you discover how the binder can be a great tool to use as
you care for your loved one. Keep this binder with your loved one,
so in case of emergency and to help different caregivers communicate,
it will be right there. Also,
don't forget to take the binder to doctor's appointments.
You'll have everything you need all in one place.
If you need refills of any of the charts, go to our website,
Henry ford.com forward slash family caregivers.
Scroll down near the bottom of the page and click on the gray tab.
Binder refills.
You can print as many as you need and if you have any questions about using the
binder or if you don't have a binder in need.
One call us at (313) 874-4838 or email caregiver resources at h f h s.
Dot. Org.
So on behalf of the entire Henry Ford Health System Care Program team,
thank you for joining me today.
We hope the binder helps make caregiving easier.