Caregiving is the fastest growing occupation in the U.S. It is important for the home care workers to stay safe at home, where they care for the growing number of seniors and other adults who need care where they live.
As a caregiver, the very best thing you can do for those who depend on you is to take care of yourself. Your health and safety is so important because …
- If you get injured or ill, you miss work, you lose income, and you can leave clients without support.
- Strained backs and muscles create more risk of hurting clients.
- Clients often worry about you when you are hurt.
- It’s painful – and stressful – to be sick, or to have sprains, strains, and broken bones.
- Getting injured or ill affects all aspects of your life.
- If you are sick, you can infect clients and others.
Some homecare workers may put their health and safety at risk because …
- They hurry – trying to do too much in too little time.
- They don’t want to let clients down and need their wages, so they work when hurt or sick.
- They haven’t received training— or haven’t been trained enough— to know how to maintain their health and safety.
- They put doing what clients want and need over their own health and safety.
- Clients want them to do things that aren’t safe or treat them in
- ways that are stressful, and they haven’t learned how to set healthy boundaries.
We at FirstLight Home Care of Tri-Valley, CA are advocates of caregiver safety. In line with this advocacy, we are sharing a series of practical tips for home care workers and their clients on how stay safe at home. These tips are inspired by and reference free materials “Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others” made available by Center for Disease Control’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
The series of safety tips are meant to help homecare workers do their work well and safely. These are also meant to help caregivers and their clients communicate concerns more effectively to each other.
– Working with the client is the best way but it is not the only way to use these tips.
– You can use these on your own or with others such as family members or guardians.
– If you work for an agency you can also ask your supervisor for information or help.
As a caregiver, can you relate to any of these?
- Do you mop, scrub, or do other housecleaning tasks for the client?
- Do you use cleaning products?
- Do you do the client’s laundry?
- Do you help the client move (transfer) from one part of the house to another?
- Do you help the client take a bath or shower?
- Do you use needles or other sharp objects such as razors or diabetes strips?
- Do you cook and shop for the client?
- Are there conditions that could lead to trips and falls?
- Are there fire and electrical hazards in the home?
- Do you feel overloaded with stress and worry about your work?
- Do you have injuries, aches, and pains or other physical symptoms that might be caused by your work?
If so, you are likely exposed to some hazards and this series of tips are applicable to you. Each of the tips include:
- What to watch out for, and the tools and tips that can help both caregiver and client stay safe.
- A talk it over section with examples of what you could say, for more effective communication.
- Tips on where to find help.
To make good use of the tips, we encourage you to –
- Keep track of good ideas to make your work safer and fill out your own to do list suggested at the end of each safety tip.
- Create your own action plan for safety and keep it on hand to remind you both about staying safe.
We hope these tips will keep you and your client safe at home.
* * * * *
Is caring your calling? We’re hiring qualified people committed to helping others. We serve clients in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, mainly in Danville, Blackhawk, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Castro Valley, Hayward, Livermore, and communities along the 680 Corridor of the East Bay. Learn more here.
You may submit an application here.