Home health etiquette

    • Anonymous
      December 27, 2009 at 11:00 pm

      Looking for advice on how to let new nurses know what I expect when they do my home infusions.
      I want to restart fresh the best way possible.This is my list so far.

      #1-Monitoring patient the whole time
      #2-No cell phones when preparing, placing or monitoring infusion
      #3-Following a planned schedule for treatment days/times
      #4-Following posted rates for increasing IV pump
      #5-Following standard protocol for IV infusions

      #1- means do NOT go outside when monitoring an infusion. Is this plain enough??
      #2-there is no place for personal calls when at work/once any of that starts it snowballs.

      After the fiasco I’ve experienced I feel I must be specific.I want to feel safe while being infused.
      How would you tell new home health staff what you expect when they’re in your home??

    • Anonymous
      December 28, 2009 at 7:30 am

      We had to switch home care companies when Emily’s nurse quit & took another job somewhere else & we were sent another nurse. The other nurse actually fell asleep twice while she was here so we HAD to switch.

      What I did was tell the nurse about our bad experience & say “that is why we switched…I wasn’t comfortable with how it went & I want to make sure Emily gets the best care possible”. I didn’t want to lay down a set of rules but I wanted to make it clear I wouldn’t put up with any more….crap.

      If it were me I would bring it up in regular conversation as opposed to just saying “you are not to do this, this & this” (which I totally agree with you on every single expectation).

      Are you going through a whole new company or is this more dr’s office infusion nurses? If you are going through another company you can call & ask to speak to the supervisor. Let him/her know what you expect & make sure they share that info with your nurses. That way it doesn’t make you uncomfortable & then (hopefully) they will select a nurse who will fit best with you.

      Did you end up having to switch dr’s? How did the neuro take what you told him about his nurses? I’ve been thinking about you for about a week now & wondering what happened with that.

      Good luck with the new nurses.
      Kelly