Should home care workers wear a face mask at their client's homes during the COVID-19 pandemic?
There are two home care workers who come to my parents' home (one during the week and the other on the weekend), and neither of them wear a face mask in my parents' house. Both of these workers are around other people outside of my parents' house, because they go to the grocery store, they share their home with their spouse/boyfriend, children. However, there's no rule in our state requiring that home care workers wear a face mask.
Should the workers be wearing face masks as a precaution to prevent spreading the virus in the homes of their elderly clients? If you are a home care worker, have you been wearing a face mask at your client's home? By the way, I realize what a pain it is to wear a mask: they are hard to breathe through, they get hot, they're annoying & can be uncomfortable. But this is about protecting the clients (who are already isolated in their homes during the virus) from outside exposure.
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If you prefer that the workers wear masks, tell them. If they won’t, you can relieve them of their services.
I cannot request that the workers do anything, no matter how nicely I ask. They will not answer to me, even though my parents want me to be fully involved. I do not think that I can relieve them of their duties, since I'm not the POA.
At home, I'm asking people who come in to wear masks (I provide disposable masks if they don't have one), to wipe off their shoes in my improvised foot bath and spray their hands with alcohol. I say it nicely like "I know it may be an inconvenience but I hope you understand that we have vulnerable elderly people in the house."
Hope you find your answers but I think it should be mandatory and your parents are at risk. Just my opinion. Keep looking into it.
take care
You've been very wise. It is so sad thinking that just people who were extra careful and made sure to use their individual common sense from the very beginning instead of relying on WHO's and governments' suggestions (remember? "Masks only protect others, you don't need a mask, only doctors need one") have effectively protected themselves ( and others!) and perhaps saved many lives without knowing it.
How many more lives could have been saved if they told us the truth instead? ("Folks, masks will save your lives but we don't have enough, we need them for doctors and nurses")If they blocked the sale of masks for the general public, many more people would have stayed at home to feel safer. Or at least, they would have had that choice.
I remember reading an article in early March about the exact dynamics of COVID contagion on a bus in China. The article said the only person who didn't get contaged was wearing an N95 mask. Others who weren't wearing a mask, including people sitting at 8 meters(!) from the person who was already ill, got all contaged, then spread it to others.
This article was a game changer for me. I tried to tell as many people as I could, but you all know the rest of the story.
I still feel extremely sad about this. Talking about lack of transparency.
I like Tothill's answer. Provide masks and tell them they need to wear them.
I don't recall if they have any reference to medical care or decisions, which normally would be addressed in a Living Will or medical POA.
Your parents want you to be involved; that business owner needs to consider that and adjust her attitude. I would be assertive and have a discussion with her, with your parents present, indicating that they wish you to be involved, and she, your parents, and you need to work this out if she wishes to continue providing services.
If you like these caregivers and don't want to switch, don't threaten, but do establish that your parents make the decisions and they want you to be involved. She needs to respect that.
I am scrupuplous about wearing a mask and gloves when out of the house, and I wash my hands frequently and well yet I am not allowed near my mother. Any health care worker knows to follow these guidelines. They are being lazy and you should correct this before either of your parents gets seriously ill.
If your care providers are not from an agency, they will have little access for education, support, screening or PPE. I advise you to check it out.
I provided clothe masks that they must wear anytime they are within 6-8 feet of him, especially during up close contact such as shaving him or preparing his food. However, we also provide sanitizing spray such as MicroBan which caregivers use 2x per shift on any surfaces my dad might touch such as doorknobs, sink faucets, etc.
I discourage glove use because if not handled correctly, they do more harm than good re: cross contamination. I do NOT recommend putting a mask on a frail man at anytime he is in his home and not showing any sign of illness.
I have Nanny Cams in areas where my dad spends time other than bathrooms and guest bedroom where caregiver sleeps. Our team knows that I can “peek” in at anytime to hold them accountable re: wearing the masks as required. They have all been wonderful at following this guidance. I do not require them to wear the masks when they are spaced away from him by at least 6 feet. We even provided clips for them to clip masks to their own blouse so it’s handy for putting on quickly if they need to tend to him.
Lastly and important: the masks I provided them are for at my dad’s home ONLY and they are to be washed daily. If they want masks for any other place they go such as grocery stores, they have to wear one of their own.
The type of PPE depends on the type of the care needed, these are the best guidelines I've found so far:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/884165/Domiciliary_guidance_England.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozY50PPmsvE&feature=youtu.be
Surgical masks should be enough unless the patient is ill, they are less unconfortable and lighter than N95 / 99, breaks in care should be assured so that the carer won't have to wear a mask for more than 2/3 hours at a time.
I'm having the same problem atm, will follow your thread.
Thanks to everyone who's posting here, this is very useful.
If your parents have not been out of the house they really do not need to wear one.
But it can help if they are willing. Double protection is best.
Face masks do pose a problem when dealing with people that rely on facial expression to understand conversation. And people with dementia have a difficult enough time trying to recognize faces and with a mask it would be impossible.
There are plastic face shields that would solve both of these problems. I have seen some made from the plastic sheets that are used as protectors for pages in a binder and there are other firmer plastic sheets that can be used, once cut it can be attacked to a baseball cap.
And if any personal contact is necessary I would require gloves as well as clothing cover. (cover for clothing should be laundered and not put on until the caregivers comes into the house. ) And they should wash their hands prior to starting and when gloves are removed hands should be washed, and washed before putting on a clean pair of gloves. (if hand washing is not practical prior to putting on gloves hand sanitizer should be used.)
If your parents leave the house they should wear masks when caregivers are present as well.
Sandy