Tips For Home Care Service During The Pandemic
Do you regularly welcome healthcare aides into your home to assist you with daily tasks like bathing, dressing, or to receive regular medical treatment without having to go to a doctor's office? If so, the recent coronavirus pandemic might give you pause. This is a time we are supposed to be social distancing, so is it a good idea to invite people into your home? Thankfully, most to all companies that are providing senior healthcare services are doing whatever they can to keep both their clients and their employees safe. Still, it can't hurt to use some common sense if you will continue to use a home healthcare service during the pandemic. Here are some important tips to keep in mind.
If It's a Check-Up or Something You Can Be Guided Through, Consider Video Conferencing
If you regularly had a nurse come out to your home just to inspect an injury or other issue with your body, it might be possible for the nurse or other healthcare worker to do a visual inspection without having to physically be inside your house. Many senior healthcare organizations are turning to video conferencing apps to conduct visual check-ups on people. Talk to a family member or friend if you need access to technology that can do this, but understand that almost all smartphones today can run a video conferencing app with no issue.
Ask Your Home Care Provider About the Specific Measures They Are Taking
If you still need someone to come to your house to help you do specific things like bathing or getting dressed, don't be afraid to contact the company you've been working with and ask them what guidelines they are following during the pandemic. Yes, it's true that some home healthcare tasks can be intimate and require the worker to get close to you, but the risk can be mitigated if you are both wearing masks and gloves. If your home healthcare appointment doesn't involve physical contact but they still need to enter the home, practice staying six feet away from each other until they leave.
Do What You Can to Limit Contact
If possible, limit the amount of time the home health care worker is in your home. If you have someone else living with you, ask them to step up and take care of more tasks for you if possible. If you can do at least some tasks yourself safely like laying out your clothes for the day, this will allow the healthcare worker to enter the home, immediately walk you through your daily tasks, and then get back out of the house.
If you require home healthcare during the pandemic, contact local senior healthcare services near you.