Home Care Quality Measures -
Percent of Patients Who Get Better at Getting in And Out of Bed

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This percentage addresses the ratio of home care patients who get better at getting in and out of bed. Higher percentages are better.

Why is this important?

A person’s ability to get in and out of bed by him- or herself is a first step to doing many other things, like getting dressed or getting to the toilet. It is especially important if someone doesn’t have caregivers who can help when the home care caregiver is not there or when home care ends.

People need certain motor skills to get in and out of bed. They can develop or maintain their motor skills by managing their symptoms or through physical or occupational therapy. Getting better at getting in and out of bed may also be a sign that they are making progress or meeting their goals ontheir road to recovery.

Continued weakness or a new medical problem that makes it difficult for someone to get in and out of bed may require changes to their care plan. For instance, they may need extra services or assistance.

Most people value being able to take care of themselves, so it is important that home care staff and informal caregivers encourage patients to do as much as they can for themselves. If they can get in and out of bed with little help, they may be more independent, feel better about themselves, and stay more active. Their home care staff will evaluate their need for—and teach them how to use any—special devices or equipment that they may need to help them increase their ability to perform certain activities without the assistance of another person. Their ability to get in and out of bed by themselves may help them live independently as long as possible.

If a home care patient stops taking care of him- or herself, it may mean that the patient’s health has gotten worse. In addition, their health and quality of life may get worse in the future. However, some patients will lose function in their basic daily activities even though the home care agency provides good care.

The data used to compute the indicator percentage for the system overall and each individual facility was collected from July 2005 to June 2006.