My mother is a vulnerable disabled elder with comorbidities. I am concerned about her (and myself ) in the home with nurses/caregivers who don't follow CDC guidelines. I am not sure if its ok to ask what cautions she might be taking on the holiday. Should I ask the agency? My mom really likes this lady so I don't want to create waves but I am also concerned about her decision to travel and celebrate at two different houses this year with children ..cousins etc. Thanks!
Since she is traveling and visiting 2 different families that she is not usually living with, I don't think it's too much to ask agency to quarantine her for 14 days or recommended number of days post travel. Just to be on the safe side.
Get a tablet or log of some kind for her to record her temps. Have plenty of gloves and hand sanitizer in the home. If you can locate one, get one of those thermometers that rolls along the forehead (not an oral one) and have it handy at the front door as well. These items can be used for all visitors.
Having the Agency test the employee prior to coming back to work after the holiday might do no good at all. If they are tested right after, and the test comes back Positive, chances are the did NOT become infected a day or few days previously. People are told that even with a Negative test result they should self-isolate anyway.
Day to day the safest thing you can do for yourself, for mom is :
Anyone should wear a mask.
If possible "social distance"
Wash hands often and or use hand sanitizer.
I would take the caregivers temp EVERYDAY before she enters more than a foot into the house. And go through the list of questions commonly asked almost everywhere now. (Have you traveled to an area that is designated as a "hot spot", have you had any symptoms, have you been in contact with anyone that has had a positive test result, are you having any symptoms, do you work in a long term care facility)
I think this is a talk that you should have with the agency ask what their instructions to staff has been. Do they test their employees, if so how often? What is their policy if someone gets sick? (Often people will still come to work even if they are not feeling well because they need the pay, if they were getting paid when they are sick they may be inclined to remain at home.)
If they send a replacement to you while your regular caregiver is self isolating or is in quarantine you are pretty much in the same spot since you do not know what they have done the previous week, they may have had their big family gathering the week before.
Unfortunatly this Covid thing is putting us all in "not ok" situations. It would be irrsesponsible of you to not ask. Being as your business arrangement is with an agency they have the fudicuray responsibility on this. I would call the agency first let them know you know from the caregiver as to her plans. BE PREPARED to lose her for 14 days after THanksgiving to quarantine. Even if my parent was in perfect health as this Covid thing is SOO contagious and soo risky for elderly, I would not want the caregiver around for 14 days.
‘It’s a virus! Believe it or not we’ve been coexisting with them since the dawn of man.
‘People need to turn OFF the televisions and actually use their brains and whatever common sense they may possess.
‘This is beyond ridiculous!
If it were me, I would ask the agency what kind of testing will they be requiring of their employees after Thanksgiving, It is risky.
Don't blame you.
All of us should be as cautious as possible to avoid the risk of Covid.
Let’s hope this vaccine will lead us in the right direction and that people will take it.
I wonder how many people will refuse to take the vaccine. No one can be forced into taking a vaccine. It’s optional.
I suppose that probably quite a large number of people have concerns about receiving the vaccine.
I can’t wait for 2020 to end. Wishing happier and safer times ahead for all of us.
This is very concerning especially as Covid numbers rise all over the world. You have already received some good suggestions from other posters. I have a question for you. How did you hear about the caregiver's plans? If you did not hear about them directly from the caregiver, is there a chance the information may not be accurate?
I like to think I am on the ball, but the other day I completely misinterpreted something I was told. My stress level is quite high and I flipped what was told to me and snapped back. I had to eat crow and apologize. The other person is a very good friend and was understanding once we sorted out why my reaction was inappropriate.
Thanksgiving was last month here in Canada, and I am looking forward to a quiet and potentially very lonely Christmas. I have mused out loud to friends about what we have done in the past, a big fondue dinner on Christmas Eve, followed by a big buffet brunch on Christmas Day. Neither of those events will happen this year, but if I was overheard some might think I was talking about hosting this year too.
So the next day I was in the kitchen and asked her if she cooked. That conversation led to her telling me the same thing my mom did. I wanted to ask her what precautions she was going to take and if there was family coming from out of town. But at that moment I just took some time to think about it. I wanted to ask her those questions but felt as if I was being too invasive. I just found out my mom's nurses from a different agency get tested every week. It would be reassuring if the agency tested the caregivers too. Especially because many of them work at hospitals and nursing homes part time too. Well this is all new territory. So I'll figure out the best solution. Thanks!
Ask if they have caregivers who practice the protocols.
The caregiver is not even wise enough to hide it from you. She might be unaware of the Covid risks and protocols. It is the job of the agency to send out safe caregivers.
You can ask the agency to send someone else, but you cant be sure that they didn't holiday with family, either. Or if the people that they interact with outside of work hours had a safe holiday.
If you ask the caregiver to isolate for 2 weeks, are you paying her? Can she afford to not get paid for 2 weeks? Is she just going to get assigned to someone else for those 2 weeks?
This is a no win situation for everyone. You may lose the caregiver over this, but if she's making this decision, what other decisions is she making when shes not working that may affect her exposure? Eating out? Masking? Protesting?
Its part of why I am so frustrated with my Mom's memory care. They wont allow me to be an essential caregiver, but since she's just back from a hospitalization after a bad fall and weak still and needs extra help they have required me to pay for an aide to stay with her as she regains strength. But I dont know what these people or their families do on their off time. But, noo, I couldn't even wheel my mom in the building in her wheelchair after she was releaded from the hospital.
Even with the test, I think they suggest a 7-10 day self quarantine.
This is not the year for the huge family gatherings, etc. We are not having Thanksgiving at all and likely, a 'masked' Christmas where DH and I deliver the gifts and go home. 2 of our 3 families have had COVID, but one hasn't, so they can hang out with the 'clean families' but we can't.
This too shall pass. Dh and I will watch a bunch of movies and maybe go for a long drive---before we know it, we'll be looking back on 2020 and saying 'man, that was a bad year'. Who knows? It might bring us together as a world family, all fighting the same battle.
Too many people in the U.S. plan to ignore the guidelines to have household-only Thanksgiving celebrations. Did you see the survey? So I wouldn't assume the fill-in caregiver will be any better!
She's going to do what she's going to do when it comes to seeing family and friends, she may or may not stick to PPE guidelines and social distancing, and there is no practical way to monitor who she comes into contact with or what precautions she takes. I don't mean this as a criticism of her, because it seems to me that almost everyone is being a lot more stringent and conscientious about the rules in theory than in practice - it's not like she's alone!
Didn’t the OP say that the caregiver was going to visit her family?
Is she an agency employee? Have you thought about contacting the agency and expressing your concerns?
Ask them to send out another caregiver until your regular caregiver has quarantined herself and that you know that she is safe to be around your mom again.