The Situation Report | November 6, 2023
With the recent tragedy in Connecticut where a home care nurse was killed, it is a reminder how important worker safety is — now more than ever we need to protect our home care workers and make sure all workers are prepared and trained for any incidents that may occur during a home visit.
HCA has hosted two webinars on worker safety under HCA’s NYC DOHMH Emergency Preparedness Grant.
Staying Safe During Home Visits and Responding to a Critical Incident
Last October, New York State Trooper, Steve Rothwein provided information on staying safe during home visits and responding to a critical incident.
Home care workers face a variety of safety challenges, including unsafe neighborhoods; use of mass transit; encountering other individuals, weapons and animals in the household; illicit drug use in the home and/or neighborhood; and more. During this webinar, Trooper Steve Rothwein identifies and provides proactive prevention strategies for preparing for home visits, dealing with an agitated person, and responding to a critical incident.
View the recording by registering here and access the handouts here.
Advancing Safety in the Workplace for Home Care’s Frontline
Last June, forensic psychiatric consultant Dr. Robert L. Weisman provided an introductory to the Safety and Violence Education (SAVE) training curriculum, utilized by healthcare and residential service providers. SAVE is specifically designed to provide proactive violence prevention strategies for healthcare providers in community settings.
The SAVE program promotes safe practice by teaching staff to identify risk factors for impending violence and ways to implement safety precautions when providing services in the community. Home care workers face a variety of safety challenges, including unsafe neighborhoods; use of mass transit; other individuals in the household; weapons and animals in the home; illicit drug use; & more.
Fallout from incidents of serious violence against service providers can have devastating consequences. Consequences of workplace violence can include staff absenteeism, staff injuries, recruitment and retention problems, poor morale and declining quality of care. Simply witnessing a violent event can be traumatic, and it can contribute to feelings of helplessness and unpredictability in the workplace. Promoting awareness of SAVE principles can further your agency’s efforts to promote situational awareness and take advance actions to prevent emergencies by encouraging safety in the workplace for your frontline staff. Direct care, clinical supervision and management staff as well as other agency leaders are encouraged to attend.
View the recording by registering here and access the handouts here.
HCA strongly encourages the membership to register and share these critical programs within their agencies. For more information regarding HCA’s emergency preparedness activities please contact Arianna Stone or Andrew Koski. For information on worker safety, please contact Celisia Street.