A patient is the primary caregiver for a disabled family member at home, and has now been unexpectedly hospitalized for surgery. What action can the nurse take to enhance the coping ability of the patient?

A) Ask if there is another family member who can help at home while the patient is in the hospital.
B) Plan to transfer the patient to a rehabilitation unit after surgery to allow uninterrupted time to recover.
C) Coordinate an ambulance transfer of the family member to an alternate family member's home.
D) Ask social services to assess what the patient's needs will be after discharge to home.

The best action by the nurse is to help the patient develop an action plan to assess what resources may already be available to meet responsibilities at home. A long absence from the home on a rehabilitation unit does not address the immediate need to provide care for the disabled family member. An ambulance transfer to another family member is premature until the placement is identified as an appropriate placement based on the disabled person's needs, availability to provide the care by another, and distance of the transfer. Assessing the patient's needs after discharge does not address the immediate need to provide care for the disabled family person.