Case study #3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case study #3 - Essay Example The couple should visit a nutritionist to assist them in creating a weekly menu and attendant shopping list of what they will need to ensure good health. This also acknowledges the wife’s need to be included in the care plan process (Quaglietti, Atwood, Ackerman, & Froelicher, 2000, 261). A schedule of medications needs to be created and made accessible to the couple. The caregiver should meet them, on a weekly basis, and portion out the pills into daily containers, marked with the day and time that the medication should be ingested. This process should be reviewed with them to ensure they understand which pills are taken and why. A moderate exercise program that both can follow, e.g., walking, should be developed, and a walking route appropriate to the weather and their living circumstances worked out. This should be part of a daily time table that includes meal times, exercise times, and medication times. A monthly review of all activities should be undertaken by the care te am (Grady, et al., 2000, 2452). There should be frequent telephone contact between visits by the nurse to ensure that the couple are managing his care plan and that the wife is feeling less overwhelmed. A nurse should visit the family weekly and review (i) nutritional intake and advise of any adjustments; (ii) medication intake and subsequent medication division and packaging for the following week; and, (iii) the amount of exercise taken and adjustments made as needed. A nutritionist should also visit once per week to plan and review weekly menus and to assist with creating shopping lists. A social worker should be contracted to come into the home two or three times a week (i) to assist with the grocery and any other shopping; (ii) to go with the couple for exercise; and, (iii) to ensure that proper personal care is also taking place, along with maintaining a clean and healthy environment. Health education is needed to ensure that the couple