Many care receivers are not ready to return home immediately after a hospital stay. Short-term rehabilitation care provides an important bridge between hospitalization and returning home. While the goal of rehabilitation is to help patients regain strength and independence, some rehab stays become long-term or permanent placements when additional care is needed.
Having a rehabilitation facility Go Bag packed and ready can reduce stress and help make the transition smoother for both the patient and caregiver.
What Is a Rehab Go Bag?
A Rehab Go Bag is a pre-packed collection of essential items for you and your care receiver in a different environment from the hospital. It will include the clothes and personal items the hospital packed for you when the patient is transferred.
Rehabilitation facilities provide more intensive physical, occupational, and speech therapy to help patients regain function and independence. A rehab stay may last several weeks or even become a permanent placement.
If you do not already have a Go Bag of what you kept with you and your loved one in the hospital, assemble one now or adjust items for rehab that may be different from what you had in the hospital. Review your own checklists as well as those provided free on our website Essential Caregiver Go Bag and Hospital Go Bag resources. A well-prepared bag helps ensure that important items are readily available, especially during the first few days when staff are still learning about the patient’s needs, preferences, and daily routines. You and your care receiver will have adjustments as well.
In a rehabilitation facility, your caregiving responsibilities may expand. Depending on your care receiver’s mobility, independence, and the level of assistance provided by staff, their daily needs may differ significantly from those of a hospital patient. You may be responsible for bringing clean clothing, undergarments, personal grooming supplies, and other items. Some facilities offer laundry services for an additional fee, while others rely on family members to manage laundry needs.
It is extremely important to label every item—including clothing, shoes, glasses cases, hearing aid containers, chargers, blankets, and bags—with the person’s name and a phone number. Unfortunately, items can be misplaced, accidentally taken by another resident, or occasionally stolen by visitors, residents, or staff. Clear labeling greatly improves the chances that lost items will be returned.
Essential Items
Medical Information
- Current medication list
- Copies of insurance cards
- Identification
- Emergency contacts
- Advance directives or medical power of attorney documents
- List of physicians and specialists
Vision and Hearing
- Eyeglasses and case
- Hearing aids and extra batteries or charger
- Dentures and supplies
Comfort and Clothing
- Several changes of comfortable clothing
- Non-skid socks, shoes, or supportive walking shoes
- Lightweight jacket or sweater
- Pajamas and robe
- Extra underwear and socks
Personal Care Items – Personal grooming items are provided by facilities, but many patients prefer their own.
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Hairbrush or comb
- Preferred soap, lotion, and shampoo
- Electric razor or shaving supplies
- Lip balm and tissues
Communication and Entertainment
- Cell phone and charger
- Tablet or laptop if appropriate, with chargers
- Headphones or earbuds
- Books, puzzles, or magazines
- Small notebook and pen for questions and notes
Items Often Forgotten
Caregivers frequently report forgetting:
- Charging cords
- Hearing aid chargers
- Denture supplies
- CPAP equipment
- Walker accessories
- Favorite blanket or comfort item
- Family photos
These familiar items can provide reassurance and help reduce anxiety during an unfamiliar transition.
Helping Rehab Staff Get to Know Your Care Receiver
Include a one-page information sheet in your Go Bag that describes:
- Preferred name
- Cognitive concerns such as dementia or memory loss
- Hearing or vision limitations
- Mobility and fall-risk concerns
- Daily routines
- Food preferences
- Communication tips
- What helps reduce anxiety or confusion
This information can be especially valuable if your loved one has difficulty communicating their own needs.
Does your care receiver take medications or have treatment plans with medical specialists that may not be directly related to their current medical needs? Ask those physicians for written orders for the rehab facility’s chart, keeping copies in your Go Bag. Do not assume that rehab facilities will administer the same medications that the hospital does. Facility physicians will review medications and write orders for the rehab facility. This is especially true for chronic pain management.
Keep Your Go Bag Ready and refresh it, as needed.
Use a medium-sized backpack or a small rollaboard to manage a rehab stay. What size can you comfortably manage? You will probably find you are hanging up more of your care receiver’s clothing because they will be more active and living in more “normal day-to-day” clothes in their rehab stay than they were at the hospital.
A Go Bag cannot eliminate the challenges of hospitalization or rehabilitation, but it can help your loved one feel more comfortable and help you feel more prepared during a time when there are already many decisions to make.
By Zanda Hilger, LPC, Founder, Family Caregiver & Program Manager for Family Caregivers Online
We hope this information is helpful to you in the important work you do as a family caregiver.
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