COVID-19
Stay at Home and Stay Safe
The COVID-19 national health emergency is a defining crisis in our generation. We would like to share with you the strong actions that our agency has taken to protect the health and safety of our home care clients and caregivers during this unprecedented time in our nation’s history. Listed below are several health & safety actions that we have initiated for your protection.
Health & Safety Actions
Clients and Agency Caregiver Telephone Screenings
Client COVID-19 Screenings
All agency clients are screened by telephone for symptoms of COVID-19 in accordance with CDC protocol. All new agency clients are also prescreened prior to starting home care service. Caregivers are trained to recognize the symptoms of COVID-19 and to proactively alert the client, family caregiver and the agency of potential concerns that may require further evaluation.
Mandatory Caregiver Self-Reporting of COVID-19 Symptoms
Agency caregivers clock-in after arriving at a client’s home. Our agency’s automated clock-in process now requires our caregivers to answer four questions related to COVID-19 symptoms pursuant to CDC guidelines.
Automated Self-Reporting of COVID-19 Symptoms by Caregivers
During the clock-in process, if a caregiver answers “No” to all (4) questions, they may start their shift as normal. If the caregiver answers “Yes” to ANY of the questions, they will see a pop-up message directing them to contact our office for further instructions. THE SYSTEM WILL PREVENT THE CAREGIVER FROM CLOCKING-IN AND OUR OFFICE WILL RECEIVE AN ALERT NOTIFYING US THAT THE CAREGIVER DID NOT CLOCK-IN SO THAT WE MAY TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION. This reporting process occurs once in a 24-hour period.
COVID-19 Caregiver Training
Heart, Body & Mind Home Care utilizes a health care training system that enables us to provide COVID-19 infection control training to all employees of the agency. Our COVID-19 training is in addition to the mandatory “Universal Precautions for Airborne Pathogens” training that agency caregivers receive as part our regular hiring process.
Our agency COVID-19 caregiver training includes the following courses:
Course #1: Infection Control
Course #2: Transmission Based Precautions
Course #3: Influenza Prevention
Course #4: Proper Hand Hygiene
Course #5: Proper Use of Personal Protective Equipment
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Issued to Caregivers
Heart, Body & Mind Home Care acted early and aggressively in the best interest of our clients and employees during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, the agency is able to provide personal protective equipment for your protection including:
Medical Face Masks for Clients and Caregivers
Medical face masks have been distributed to all agency caregivers. We also provided each client a medical face mask.
Washable Face Mask Covers for Clients and Caregivers
Utilizing the guidelines issued by Cambridge College in Boston, Heart, Body & Mind Home Care purchased cloth material and engaged a small team of volunteers to sew beautiful, washable face masks. These face masks can be used independently or placed over our medical masks as a washable and reusable cover to extend the useful period of medical face masks during the current supply shortage.
*Clients: The masks have not been sterilized, therefore we recommend hand washing the masks in soap & water and allowing them to air dry prior to use. You can choose to wear the mask when a caregiver assists you with a personal care activity such as bathing or showering, toileting, dental hygiene, grooming, dressing, walking or similar activity.
Vinyl Protective Gloves
Caregivers have been provided a supply of vinyl gloves for use in client homes. The agency maintains a large supply of additional gloves for our caregivers.
Alcohol Based Hand Sanitizer (ABHS)
According to the Centers for Disease Control, soap and water is the best method for hand cleaning and infection control. ABHS have been distributed to caregivers to use when soap and water are not immediately available. ABHS is in short supply across the country. We are working closely with our PPE vendor and other professionals in the communities we serve to obtain additional quantities of ABHS.
Caring for the Body, Engaging the Spirit
As a leading home care provider in Southwest Florida, Heart, Body & Mind Home Care is playing a critical role in protecting the health & safety of elderly members of our community. When considering home based care for yourself or a loved one, it is important to turn to a trusted home care agency with systems and protocols in place that provide peace of mind so that you can remain comfortably secure in your own home. Please be assured that the management of Heart, Body & Mind Home Care is steadfast in our commitment to the health & safety of our clients and employees.
Thank you for entrusting your care to us.
Ralph B. Laughton
President
