Home Safety Questions Caregivers Ask

What Should I Change Before My Parent Comes Home From the Hospital?

Start with the first trip through the door and the routines your parent will need during the first few days at home. You may not need to remodel anything. Focus first on access, walking paths, bathroom use, sleeping arrangements, equipment, stairs, and the help your parent is expected to need after discharge.

Before changing the home, make sure you understand the discharge plan. Ask the hospital or rehabilitation team about mobility, weight-bearing or activity restrictions, equipment, assistance needs, therapy recommendations, and any instructions that affect how your parent will move through the home.

Check the Home Room by Room → Explore Home Safety Resources →

Maybe you’re facing something like this:

  • A walker will be used for the first time.
  • The usual bedroom is upstairs.
  • The only shower has a tub edge.
  • A wheelchair may not fit through the usual route.
  • The caregiver will now help with transfers.
  • Equipment needs to be set up beside the bed.
  • The person tires much faster than before the hospital stay.
  • The family is unsure which entrance will be easiest.

These situations do not automatically require construction. They tell you which parts of the home deserve attention before arrival.

Start with the first trip home

Walk the Route Before Discharge Day

Pretend your parent is arriving right now. Start at the car or driveway and walk the exact route they will take to the place where they will sit or rest.

From the Car to the Door

Look at where the car will park, the sidewalk or driveway, any outside steps or slope, weather exposure, places to hold on, and the distance from the vehicle to the entrance. What you find here doesn’t automatically mean a ramp is needed.

The Entrance

Check the steps, the threshold, the door width and which way the door swings, the room to maneuver, and the lighting at the door.

Main Walking Path

Notice rugs, cords, furniture, narrow turns, floor transitions, and whether there is enough clear room for any equipment your parent will be using.

Where They Will Rest

Make sure the first destination is easy to reach and does not require an unnecessary trip through the house.

Bathroom Route

Check whether the bathroom can be reached from the main resting or sleeping area without a difficult route.

Stairs or Level Changes

Identify whether essential routines require stairs. Whether your parent should climb them is a question for the discharge or therapy team, not something to decide on your own.

Before they come home

Seven Things to Set Up First

Work through these in order. Each one builds on what you learned from the discharge team and from walking the route.

  1. Know What Changed

    Before looking at the house, understand what is different now. That might include mobility, endurance, strength, equipment, help with transfers, activity restrictions, the need for supervision, or the bathing routine. Take this from the discharge team’s guidance rather than your own guesses.

  2. Create a Clear Path From the Entrance

    Remove unnecessary obstacles from the route your parent is expected to use: clutter, loose objects, furniture crowding the path, cords, and temporary items. A clearer path makes the route easier to use, though no single change can be counted on to prevent a fall.

  3. Decide Where the Person Will Sleep

    Ask whether the usual bedroom can be reached, whether stairs are involved, whether the bathroom is nearby, whether there is room for needed equipment, and whether the caregiver can reach your parent when needed. The answer isn’t automatically to move the bedroom downstairs; it depends on the whole situation.

  4. Review the Bathroom

    Look at the route to the bathroom, toilet transfers, shower or tub entry, the hand support that’s there now, equipment, lighting, the floor path, and whether there is room for a caregiver to help. Noticing a difficulty tells you where to look more closely. It doesn’t tell you which product or change is right.

  5. Make Room for Equipment

    If the discharge team has ordered or recommended mobility or other support equipment, clear enough space for it where it will be used. Plan around what has actually been ordered or recommended, rather than buying equipment ahead of the discharge instructions.

  6. Put Everyday Items Within Easy Reach

    Frequently used items may need to move temporarily so your parent isn’t making extra trips through the home or reaching and bending more than necessary. Follow any specific instructions the care team gave; don’t add restrictions they didn’t.

  7. Plan the Caregiver Route Too

    Think about where you will stand, move equipment, help with routines, store supplies, and get in and out of the space. A home setup needs to work for both the person receiving care and the person helping.

Prioritize the first days

Separate “Before They Come Home” From “Plan Later”

These categories organize planning. They do not replace the discharge plan or determine clinical readiness for home.

Before arrival

Immediate Access and Essential Routines

A usable entrance, a clear main path, a reachable sleeping area, a workable bathroom route, space for prescribed equipment, needed supplies on hand, and room for the caregiver to help.

During the first few days

What Becomes Difficult in Practice

Once your parent is actually using the home, watch transfers, the nighttime bathroom route, where equipment ends up, furniture arrangement, fatigue on longer routes, and the workarounds caregivers start relying on.

Plan later

Larger, Longer-Term Changes

Major bathroom changes, entrance modifications, stair solutions, doorway changes, and other accessibility work may be worth considering once the family understands the new routine more clearly.

Check essential spaces

Focus on the Rooms Your Parent Will Actually Use

One question per space, answered with the expected mobility and assistance plan in mind.

  • Entrance

    Can they get inside using the expected mobility and assistance plan?

  • Bedroom or Sleeping Area

    Can they reach it without unnecessary barriers?

  • Bathroom

    Can they reach the toilet and the bathing area their current routine requires?

  • Main Living Area

    Is there a clear route and a suitable place to sit and rest?

  • Kitchen and Meals

    Can meals, drinks, and needed items be managed without unnecessary trips?

  • Stairs

    Are essential daily routines located on another floor? Use the discharge or therapy instructions to decide what that means.

Free printable

Want to Walk Through the Home Before Discharge Day?

Use the Complete Room-by-Room Home Safety Checklist to review entrances, walking paths, bathrooms, bedrooms, stairs, lighting, flooring, and other areas before your parent arrives home.

Download the Free Home Safety Checklist →

Free to download. No sign-up needed.

Interactive tool

Prefer a Guided Plan?

Hospital-to-Home Safety Planner

Organize the discharge date, entrance route, stairs, sleeping location, bathroom access, walking paths, ordered or recommended equipment, caregiver help, the nighttime route, what needs attention now versus later, and your questions for the discharge team. It won’t interpret medical orders, decide discharge readiness, or recommend equipment.

Start the Hospital-to-Home Safety Planner →Interactive tool coming soon

Keep the first goal small

You May Not Need to Fix Everything Before They Come Home

Hospital discharge can make families feel like the entire home needs to change immediately. Often, the first goal is much smaller.

Make the route in, the sleeping area, bathroom access, essential walking paths, and necessary equipment workable for your parent’s current needs. That is usually enough to start.

This isn’t a reason to put off something that’s genuinely needed. The discharge team may identify changes or equipment that need to be in place before arrival, and those instructions take priority.

Longer-term changes are easier to judge once
  • your parent is home
  • actual routines are clearer
  • therapy has progressed
  • equipment is being used in the real space
  • the caregiver workload is more apparent
  • the family knows which barriers persist

Professional input

When Another Set of Eyes May Help

Not every family needs professional input. Some situations benefit from an individualized look before or after discharge.

Depending on the situation, useful input may come from a hospital or rehabilitation occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a discharge planner or care manager, home-health professionals where they are involved, an aging-in-place specialist, a home modification professional, or an appropriately licensed contractor for construction work.

Discharge teams are set up differently from one hospital or rehab setting to the next, and not every patient receives a home assessment. Ask what home-preparation or assessment support is available before discharge.

Some families find it useful when
  • mobility has changed substantially
  • new equipment will be used
  • transfers now require assistance
  • wheelchair access is involved
  • stairs are part of essential daily routines
  • bathroom access is difficult
  • several home changes seem connected
  • you’re considering construction before or after discharge
  • you’re unsure what should be addressed first
  • the hospital or rehab team recommends a home assessment
  • your parent’s current abilities don’t seem to match the existing layout

Go deeper

Learn More About Preparing the Home

Pick the caregiver guide that matches what you found on your walk-through. Each one goes further than this page.

Caregiver guide · Start here

Aging in Place Home Modifications: Where Should We Start?

For sorting which home changes matter first.

Read the guide → Caregiver guide · Start here

Home Modifications After a Fall

For when the hospital stay followed a fall.

Read the guide → Caregiver guide

Bathroom Safety Modifications for Older Adults

For when bathroom access looks difficult.

Read the guide → Caregiver guide

Stair Safety for Older Adults

For when daily routines involve stairs.

Read the guide → Caregiver guide

When Should You Hire a Home Safety Professional?

For deciding whether outside help makes sense.

Read the guide →

Free caregiver resources

Free Tools to Help You Take the Next Step

Free printable · Start here

Complete Room-by-Room Home Safety Checklist

Walk through entrances, paths, bathrooms, bedrooms, stairs, lighting, and flooring before arrival.

Download the free checklist → Free printable

Home Safety After a Fall Checklist

Useful when the hospital stay followed a fall.

Get the checklist →Coming soon Free printable

Professional Home Assessment Preparation Checklist

Useful before an OT, PT, or home modification professional visits.

Get the checklist →Coming soon Free printable

Aging-in-Place Remodeling Priorities Worksheet

Useful once the new routine is clear and longer-term changes are on the table.

Get the worksheet →Coming soon

Keep exploring

Organizing More Than the Home?

The Caregiving Concierge™ is a family caregiving coordination platform: a shared care workspace where families can organize essential information, coordinate responsibilities, and see what needs to happen next.

Explore The Caregiving Concierge™ →

Quick answers

Preparing the Home for Discharge, Answered Briefly

What should I change before my parent comes home from the hospital?

Start with the route into the home and the essential routines your parent will need during the first few days. Review the entrance, walking paths, sleeping area, bathroom access, stairs, space for prescribed or recommended equipment, and the amount of caregiver assistance expected after discharge. Use the discharge plan rather than guessing about restrictions or equipment needs.

Do we need to remodel the house before hospital discharge?

Not necessarily. Some families only need temporary changes, equipment, or a different room setup at first, while others may need more substantial modifications. Focus first on what is required for essential access and routines, then evaluate longer-term changes as needs become clearer.

Should my parent sleep downstairs after the hospital?

Possibly, but the right sleeping location depends on the person’s current mobility, discharge instructions, bathroom access, stairs, equipment, caregiver assistance, and home layout. Do not assume that moving the bedroom is required without looking at the whole situation.

Who can help us prepare the home before discharge?

Depending on the setting, useful input may come from the hospital or rehabilitation discharge team, occupational or physical therapy, home-health professionals, or qualified home-modification professionals. Roles vary, so ask what home-preparation or assessment support is available before discharge.