Safety and the Home Health Aide

A Home Health Aide brings modern home health to patients in the special warmth of their home. Receiving care at home brings rest and reassurance to patients and their loved ones. Being a Home Health Aide is a very rewarding career.

For some, going into a new neighborhood or unfamiliar home can be scary. Most patients and their families are generally not a threat. However, it is always good to be aware of safety issues around you.

Here are a few tips to help make your job safe and to reduce your fear so that you can focus on helping your patient.

The following is adapted from practicenotes.org. Before you enter a family's home, you should have a safety action plan. This plan should include precautions that will help you avoid stepping into a dangerous situation. It should also contain strategies that will help you manage a confrontation if one occurs.

Safety Assessment. To gather the basic information you need for an action plan, you should conduct a safety assessment of the situation. Doing a safety assessment before you leave the office will allow you to decide what preventative measures you should take, such as who to bring (going out in teams), when to visit (preferably during daylight hours), and how to proceed.

As a first step in this assessment, learn what you can about the family's history: have they had violent encounters with the police, schools, or social services? Is there a history of mental illness in the family? Have they had negative interactions with your agency in the past? Some of these details will be noted in agency records. For others, you may need to consult informal sources, such as your supervisor, coworkers, or colleagues.

Also, give serious consideration to the street, neighborhood, or area where the family lives. You will want to exercise extra caution—for example, avoid wearing jewelry—in known drug areas, isolated places, or high crime areas. No matter where you are going, be sure your car has enough gas and is in good working order.

Although many times you will not be able to learn much about a family, even a little information can help you make an informed judgment.

Safety Action Plan. When you've found out what you can, make a plan. Be sure to follow any safety protocols or policies your agency has (for example, leave information about where you are going).

In addition, the article, "Sample Action Plan for Safety", contains suggestions for keeping yourself safe on a visit. And trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Try to figure out why, and decide what to do. Observing your surroundings is key.

No matter how thorough you are, safety assessments and action plans are not magic bullets. If they are to work at all, you must remain alert and observant once you are in a family's home.

Situations for the Home Health Aide to avoid. (From our Home Health Aide online class)

Do only what and exactly what your case manager instructs you to do! There are some situations you should recognize and avoid. Doing more than is assigned. Practice saying "no" in a tactful way, encouraging the client to contact the case manager if more services are wanted. When you do something that was not assigned, you are assuming responsibility (liability) for these acts and your agency is no longer responsible.

Doing less than is assigned. This may put the client in danger and lead to a charge of negligence, which means "an action or lack of action that leads to an accident or injury." Doing hasty, careless, or poor-quality work. You have received training in the proper way to carry out your work activities; it is your responsibility to work carefully.

Doing hasty, careless, or poor-quality work. You have received training in the proper way to carry out your work activities; it is your responsibility to work carefully. Sometimes, even with the greatest amount of care being taken, accidents happen: A valuable vase breaks while you are dusting it or a client falls. If you have been carrying out your assigned duties and exercising a reasonable amount of care, you usually are not held liable for the damage or injury that results; agencies carry liability insurance to cover these types of accidents.

Using your car for work activities.This applies to transporting a client in your car, even when you are taking the client to the doctor's office or just out for a ride, without letting your car insurance agency know. If an accident occurs, you might be liable for the resulting damage and you may be required to personally pay for those damages, if you do not have proper coverage. Be sure your driver's license is current and in good standing, that your car is in good repair; and have approval of your agency to take the client in your car. Also, check to see if you will be paid mileage for use of your car by your agency. Before employing an individual, some agencies will require that the home health aide has a valid driver's license, car, and proper automobile insurance.

Failing to do accurate and daily reporting and documentation.You are in a hurry and decide not to chart today on your client, cut plan to do it the next day when you will have more time. The client's daughter comes to visit her mother and sees that northing is written on the chart that day and immediately assumes that no one was there to care for her mother. The daughter becomes quite upset over this incident, which could have easily been avoided, and calls the home health agency. ailing to act in an emergency.

Failing to act in an emergency. You should know what the emergency plan is for each client you care for, and you should be prepared to follow it. In a life-threatening situation, call 911 if available in your area. If 911 service is not available, call for an ambulance before calling your case manager. There are few exceptions before calling an ambulance in an emergency. In some cases the family wants to be notified first before calling an ambulance. This information should be clearly stated in the client's care plan. Some agencies may require you to be CPR/first aid certified before you are hired. Do not try to perform first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if you have not been trained to do so.

Attempting to do things that are beyond your abilities. It is okay to say, "I don't know how to do that. Let's see if we can get someone who does." You are not employed as a nurse, a plumber, an electrician, or a counselor.....do not try to be one.

Injuring yourself or the client by doing something you are not assigned or adequately trained to do. If you have been assigned to do something you do not feel comfortable doing, ask for more training. Trying to do something without assignment and adequate training, such as moving a client with a Hoyer lift, can leave you liable for injury those results. that later cause injury to you or another home health aide. Do not take unnecessary risks. Follow the agency procedures for reporting.

Be proud of your job has a Home Health Aide! Follow your agency’s safety policies and you’ll be giving the best care possible to your patients!

Find out more about our Home Health Aide online courses for Kansas by clicking here.