BATHING

Time to take a bath.  At our facility SHOWER day/time is posted on the patient's information board in the patient's room. We score the patient according to the ten parts he/she can wash, rinse and dry.


BATHING: Bathing includes washing, rinsing, and drying the body from the neck down (excluding the neck and back) in either a tub, shower, or sponge/bed bath. The patient performs the activity safely.

NO HELPER

7 Complete Independence—The patient safely bathes (washes, rinses and dries) the body.

6 Modified Independence—The patient requires specialized equipment (including prosthesis or orthosis) to bathe, or takes more than a reasonable amount of time, or there are safety considerations.

HELPER

5 Supervision or Setup—The patient requires supervision (e.g., standing by, cueing or coaxing) or setup (application of assistive/adaptive devices, setting out bathing equipment, or initial preparation such as preparing the water or washing materials).

4 Minimal Contact Assistance—The patient performs 75% or more of bathing tasks.

3 Moderate Assistance—The patient performs 50% to 74% of bathing tasks. 


2 Maximal Assistance—The patient performs 25% to 49% of bathing tasks. 


1 Total Assistance—The patient performs less than 25% of bathing tasks.

0 Activity Does Not Occur—Enter code 0 only for the admission assessment. The patient does not bathe self, and is not bathed by a helper. Use of this code should be rare.

When scoring this item, consider the body as divided up into ten areas or parts. Evaluate how the patient bathes each of the ten areas or parts, with each accounting for 10% of the total:

*chest 

*left arm *right arm

*abdomen

*perineal area

 *buttocks

 *left upper leg *right upper leg  

*left lower leg, including foot

 *right lower leg, including foot

The next time you are observing a shower and your patient requires a helper ask yourself two questions. What are the ten parts? How many of those parts can my patient wash rinse and dry?