Home Health Nurses -What's in your bag?

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Mar 1, 2015

Keep some cleaning supplies on hand. I've been in many households where there were no supplies to ensure a clean work area or a clean environment for my patient.

I also enabled the hot spot on my phone so that i could have internet access whenever i needed it. This was more for my sanity than anything else(long nights on private duty can be booooring), but it's also good to have access when you need to look up a med, find a doctor's phone number, whatever.

If you are doing visits, I'd keep a good paper map in the car in case your GPS craps out.

caliotter3 · Mar 1, 2015

My GPS actually did crap out one time, so a good paper map in the glove compartment is not a bad idea.

pnkgirl25 · Mar 16, 2015

This is what I have:

Gloves

4x4

kurlex

tape

Abd pags

blood draw supplies

cath kits

catheters in all sizes

lots of xeroform

spray NSS

Amergel, Zinc, triple antibiotic, bacitracin

chux

a bunch of other stuff but thats the basics

camoflower · Mar 18, 2015

We carry a tackle box with lab equipment. (the day a lab is due the supplies are on the cart for pick up, pkg'd with pts name)

Kerlix/abd pads/

4x4

normal saline

tape

cath kit

must be on a barrier, sealed, in date

we have to have a contamination package with gloves, shoe covers, clean up supplies, yellow gown, mask..

we use lots of wax paper for our barriers 1 box per week, our nursing bags set on the barrier

we have Cavilion wipes/alcohol to decontaminate all our equipment used in home

Perell hand sanitizer

a small cooler for our blood specimens...in the heat of summer

plastic containers with lids/away from

dirty box

weight scale...for SOCs and CHF patients to be weightd every visit

Libby1987 · Mar 19, 2015

I addition to what's been listed, though I don't carry a scale, I carry:

PICC supplies

All common wound care supplies:

hydrocolloid

transparent

adaptic

xeroform

silver and plain Alginate

different size/types foam

4 x 10 and 4 x 16 bordered dressings

gauze packing

sterile and non sterile qtips

telfa

kerlix sponges

kerlix rolls

stretch gauze

ABDS

sterile 4x4's and 2x2's

stockinette

unna boots

3 layer compression

ACE/Coban

2" paper tape

saline

sterile water

wound cleanser

silver and plain gel

skin prep

alcohol preps

betadine preps

skin barrier creams

staple removal

suture removal

syringe/needles for B12

1" steri strips

INR supplies

sterile gloves

and like above

catheter supplies

lab supplies

microkill

sharps container

alexprn · Mar 30, 2015

What kind of bag do you use? backpack? any particular brand?