# A client with heart failure will be discharged to an upper-floor apartment and lives alone. The client has had no way to weigh at home and has been readmitted again this year. Which referral should the nurse arrange first?

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> language: en  
> subject: Referrals  
> category: MOC

## Question

A client with heart failure will be discharged to an upper-floor apartment and lives alone. The client has had no way to weigh at home and has been readmitted again this year. Which referral should the nurse arrange first?

## Option

1. A cardiac rehabilitation program that starts after the first clinic visit
2. A meal service that delivers low-sodium meals to the home every week
3. A medical supply vendor who can deliver a bedside commode this week
4. A home health nurse who can set up daily weights and review symptoms **✔ Correct answer**

**Correct answer: 4**

## Explanation

Daily weight is the early warning that prevents readmission for fluid overload. A home health referral establishes the monitoring and the response pathway that the other services assume.

## In-depth explanation

Quick answer
Arrange home health nursing for daily weights and symptom review.

Why this is correct
This client's repeat admissions come from fluid gain that goes unnoticed, and daily weight detects it days before dyspnea. The home health nurse sets up the measurement and provides the person who acts on the number.

Easy analogy or mental picture
It is installing a smoke detector rather than restocking the extinguisher. The comparison highlights early warning and does not rank the other services as unnecessary.

Memory hook
In heart failure at home, the scale is the monitor.

NCLEX decision rule
Prioritize the referral that creates monitoring and a response pathway for the problem that caused the admissions. Supportive services follow once the warning system is in place.

Why the other choices are wrong
Rehabilitation, meal delivery, and equipment each support long-term management, yet none of them detects the fluid gain that brings this client back to the hospital.References

- [1]NCSBN: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test PlanNational Council of State Boards of Nursing

- [2]MedlinePlus: Heart Failure Home MonitoringU.S. National Library of Medicine

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