Taking Precautions to Protect Your Loved One

Home Instead's COVID-19 Safety Protocols

Before Leaving for Shift:

1. Mandatory Illness Reports
• Home Instead CAREGivers report any illness related symptoms to our office, or after hours to our on-call line that we answer 24/7, including holidays and weekends before leaving their house for shift.
2. Mandatory Temperature Checks
   
• Home Instead CAREGivers take their temperatures before leaving their home and reporting to shift to make sure that they have no fever.

Before Arriving on Shift:

1. Mandatory Cloth Mask
• All of our Home Instead CAREGivers are prepared with a cloth mask to be donned before entering a client’s home.

Arriving on Shift:

1. Pre-shift Message for Telephony and the Mobile App
   
   • At the beginning of a telephony shift clock-in, this message will play: “If you or your clients are experiencing any fever, cough or flu-like symptoms, please contact your office immediately. Please also be extra careful by washing your hands for 30 seconds with soap at arrival and frequently throughout your shifts.”
2. Illness Questionnaire
   
   • Home Instead CAREGivers must answer before finishing clocking into a client’s home. This questionnaire is to make sure that all CAREGivers and Clients are safe guarded from the spread of COVID-19.

The Caregiver Screening Questions include:

• Have you or a member of your household been experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough, or shortness of breath?
• Have you or a member of your household been out of the country within the last 14-18 days?
• Have you or a member of your household been in close contact with anyone who has been tested, diagnosed or told by a medical professional they may have COVID-19?
• Have you or a member of your household been in close contact with anyone who has traveled overseas or to a high-risk area within the last 14-18 days?
  

If the caregiver has completed a questionnaire within the last twenty-three hours, they will not be asked the questions again.  If it has been longer than twenty-three hours since the caregiver completed a questionnaire, the screening questions will populate for the caregiver to reply. If the caregiver replies yes to any of the questions, they will receive a prompt "Please contact your agency office immediately before you proceed with your shift."

  3. Standard Precautions, PPE and Client Symptom Check

• Home Instead CAREGivers wash their hands for 30 seconds before the start of their shift
• Home Instead CAREGivers apply proper PPE (Personal Protectant Equipment) such as gloves when interacting in close contact with clients as well other situations to follow standard precautions . (personal care, etc.) 
• Home Instead CAREGivers will apply gloves, and will take their client’s temperature at the beginning of shift, while also asking them self-reflecting questions about any illness symptoms. These temperatures are tracked and reported to the office if above the normal range for that particular client.