Home Care & Digital Caregiving

Using the year option

• Semester 1: rows 1–8 (modules 1–5) plus Digital Health Navigator Pro (24 hrs)
• Semester 2: rows 9–18 (modules 6–10), final exam and the partner skills lab
• Use open class time for HOSA, employability skills and work-based learning

Room & supplies checklist

Ticks are saved on this device.

Group norms (agree in week 1)

• What is shared in the room stays in the room
• No real client names, photos or stories
• Speak from your own experience
• Ask before touching anyone, even in practice
• Celebrate every badge out loud

Scope, said the same way every time

• Aides follow the care plan and the supervising nurse
• Aides observe, report and document changes the same day
• Aides do not diagnose or give medical advice
• Aides follow the care plan and the supervising nurse. For medicines, follow your state's rules and your agency's care plan.

When topics get heavy

• Modules 1, 8 and 9 cover abuse reporting, emergencies, dementia and end-of-life care. Warn students ahead of time
• Give a way to step out and a person to talk to
• Emergency: 911 · Crisis: 988 (call or text)

Leader opener

Ask: "What would you want from a stranger who came to help you bathe?" List answers as "rights".

Live It activity

Scope sort: groups sort 20 request cards into "I can do it", "Ask my supervisor" and "Not my role".

Discussion questions

1. Where is the line between helping and deciding for someone?
2. Why is it hard for a client to report someone they love?
3. What makes you trustworthy in a client's home?

Handout: Scope sort cards. 20 request cards for “I can do it” · “Ask my supervisor” · “Not my role”, plus a client rights pocket card.

Scenario debrief: Mrs. Alvarez and the missing cash

Mrs. Alvarez, 82, tells you her grandson "borrows" money from her purse and she is now short on money for groceries. She asks you not to tell anyone.

Model steps:

1. Listen calmly and thank her for telling you
2. Explain kindly that you must share safety concerns with your supervisor
3. Write down what she said in her own words, with the date and time
4. Report to your supervisor the same day
5. Follow your agency's steps for an Adult Protective Services report

Leader opener

Show a short care photo or video. Everyone writes what they saw. Compare: who wrote facts, who wrote guesses?

Live It activity

Report relay: pairs practice calling a supervisor with a change using "who, what, when, what I did".

Discussion questions

1. Why do guesses in a record cause problems?
2. What makes you hesitate to call a supervisor?
3. How do you talk with a client who cannot hear well?

Handout: Objective vs. subjective sort + SBAR-style report card. What I saw · what they said · when · who I told.

Scenario debrief: Mr. Johnson seems "off"

Mr. Johnson usually chats while you make breakfast. Today he is quiet, did not touch his toast and says, "I just feel tired." His skin feels warm.

Model steps:

1. Ask him how he feels and listen
2. Take his temperature if it is on your care plan
3. Note what you saw and what he said, with the time
4. Call your supervisor to report the changes
5. Document the report and any instructions you were given

Leader opener

Glow test: use lotion or a classroom glow product to show what hand-washing misses (optional).

Live It activity

Home hazard hunt: teams mark hazards on a printed room photo and decide "fix it" or "report it".

Discussion questions

1. Which hand hygiene moment is easiest to forget?
2. How do you raise a safety hazard with a family without offending them?
3. What would you do if you ran out of gloves?

Handout: Hand hygiene and PPE step cards. Post one at the sink; glove-removal steps on the back.

Scenario debrief: Laundry day at the Lees'

Mr. Lee had an accident in bed overnight. The sheets are soiled, and his daughter left a space heater on next to the bed.

Model steps:

1. Clean your hands and put on gloves
2. Turn off and move the space heater away from the bed
3. Remove soiled linens by rolling them inward, away from your body
4. Bag the linens, remove gloves and clean your hands
5. Report the accident and the heater hazard to your supervisor

Leader opener

Everyone finds and counts their own pulse for 30 seconds and doubles it. Compare and talk about why it varies.

Live It activity

Reading drill: pairs read sample care-plan limits and decide "record" or "record and call" for 12 reading cards.

Discussion questions

1. Why does a baseline matter more than a textbook number?
2. What else would you report along with a reading?
3. What do you do if a device gives a strange number?

Handout: Vital signs recording sheet. Time · temperature · pulse · respirations · BP (if allowed) · the care plan’s “call the nurse” numbers.

Scenario debrief: Ms. Patel's afternoon check

The care plan says to take Ms. Patel's temperature, pulse and breathing each visit and to call the nurse if her temperature is 100.4 °F or higher. Today it reads 100.9 °F and she has a new cough.

Model steps:

1. Clean your hands and explain what you will do
2. Take and recheck the temperature the way you were trained
3. Count her pulse and breathing and note the cough
4. Call the nurse to report the readings and the cough
5. Record the readings, the time and the nurse's instructions

Leader opener

Ask: "What would you want to stay private if someone else helped you bathe?"

Live It activity

Step cards: teams order the steps of a bed bath, then discuss where privacy and safety checks belong.

Discussion questions

1. How do you help someone keep their dignity during toileting?
2. Why should you never rub a red area?
3. What do you do if a client says no to a bath three days in a row?

Handout: Dignity checklist. Knock · explain · cover · offer choices · check water temperature · report skin changes.

Scenario debrief: Mr. Brown's morning care

Mr. Brown, 76, stays in bed most of the day. During his bed bath you see a red area on his tailbone that stays red when you gently press it.

Model steps:

1. Explain the bath and keep him covered
2. Finish washing and dry his skin gently
3. Do not rub or massage the red area
4. Help him change position as the care plan says
5. Report the red area to your supervisor and document it

Leader opener

Have everyone stand with feet together, then apart, and feel the difference in balance.

Live It activity

Fall-proof the room: teams mark hazards on a floor plan and write a 5-item home safety checklist.

Discussion questions

1. Why is it unsafe to catch a falling person?
2. How do you tell a family that their loved one needs two helpers?
3. What does a client lose when we do everything for them?

Handout: Transfer step card + home fall-hazard walk-through sheet.

Scenario debrief: Mrs. Kim from bed to chair

Mrs. Kim had a stroke and her left side is weak. The care plan says one-person transfer with a gait belt from bed to wheelchair.

Model steps:

1. Explain the transfer and put non-skid shoes on her
2. Place the wheelchair on her right (stronger) side and lock the brakes
3. Help her sit at the edge of the bed and apply the gait belt
4. On the count of three, help her stand, pivot and sit
5. Check her comfort and position and record the transfer

Leader opener

Pass around common cups and bowls. Guess how many mL each holds, then measure.

Live It activity

Diet match: teams match 12 foods to "OK" or "not OK" for three sample diet orders.

Discussion questions

1. How do you respect a client's food culture while following a diet order?
2. Why might a client stop eating?
3. What do you do if the family brings food that breaks the diet?

Handout: Intake and output log + “follow the diet” card. Space for diet type, liquid consistency and what to report.

Scenario debrief: Lunch with Mr. Davis

Mr. Davis is on thickened liquids after a stroke. During lunch he coughs after each sip, and his voice sounds wet. He asks for a glass of regular water.

Model steps:

1. Stop feeding and let him cough
2. Keep him sitting upright
3. Explain you can only give liquids the way the care plan says
4. Report the coughing and wet voice to your supervisor right away
5. Record what he ate and drank and what you reported

Leader opener

Ask: "Have you ever called 911? What did they ask you?"

Live It activity

Call or not? Teams sort 15 situation cards into "Call 911", "Call supervisor" and "Note and watch".

Discussion questions

1. What stops people from calling 911?
2. How do you stay calm with a scared family?
3. What would you put in a client's emergency kit?

Handout: By-the-phone emergency card. Address, cross streets, emergency contacts, medicine list location, F.A.S.T. on the back.

Scenario debrief: Mrs. Garcia's sudden change

While you help Mrs. Garcia with lunch, her face droops on one side, her speech is slurred and she drops her spoon.

Model steps:

1. Note the time the symptoms started
2. Call 911 and say you think it is a stroke
3. Stay with her and keep her safe; give nothing to eat or drink
4. Share the address, her medicine list and the time of onset with responders
5. Report to your supervisor and document what happened

Leader opener

Have learners wear gloves and foggy glasses to button a shirt. Talk about how it felt.

Live It activity

Behavior detective: teams read 8 behavior cards and list possible needs behind each.

Discussion questions

1. How can you learn a client's life story?
2. What is the difference between helping and taking over?
3. What helps you after a client dies?

Handout: Join-their-world phrase card. Five calm responses for confusion, plus a respite and caregiver-support list.

Scenario debrief: Mr. Wilson wants to go to work

Mr. Wilson, who has Alzheimer's disease, puts on his coat at 4 p.m. and says he is late for his job at the mill. He retired 20 years ago. He is getting upset.

Model steps:

1. Stay calm and speak gently
2. Do not argue or tell him he is retired
3. Ask him about his work and listen
4. Redirect him to a snack or a favorite activity
5. Note the time and what helped, and share it with your supervisor

Leader opener

Ask: "What tech does your client or family member use for health?" List it.

Live It activity

Telehealth tech check: pairs run a 5-step video visit setup and one partner plays the nervous client.

Discussion questions

1. Where is the line between reminding and giving medicine?
2. How do you help a client who is afraid of technology?
3. What would you do if a device stopped sending readings?

Handout: Telehealth readiness checklist. Charge · test camera and sound · private spot · medicine list and questions · write down instructions.

Scenario debrief: Ms. Robinson's video check-in

Ms. Robinson has a video visit with her heart doctor at 2 p.m. Her home blood pressure cuff sends readings to the clinic. Her tablet battery is low and she is nervous.

Model steps:

1. Charge the tablet and test the camera, sound and connection
2. Help her sit quietly for 5 minutes, then take a reading the way she was trained
3. Have her medicine list and questions ready
4. Help her join the visit and step back as she prefers
5. Write down the care team's instructions and report them to your supervisor