[newflgrad]

I have been on this case for 10 months doing at the most 32 hrs a week and min of 24 a week. It is for twins (very active) and have a question for anyone out there that can give me advice. One parent that use to be in the home and stay at home and go on doctor's visits and make apts and handle the refills on meds is now gone. There is a single parent in the home that works M-F day shift. We have one nurse that has joined in the care and giveing me a hard time and calling my DON and telling her I am not doing my job and I am at my wits end! There is no phone in the home, but the grandmother lives next door and it's a duplex, which I am told we can use her phone if we need to. What the problem is, I am being told I AM THE ONE That has to call and make ALL the doctor's apts and call and set up Medicaid transportation, call in all refills, etc.......... because this is a single parent and they work during normal office hours and they can't call. Am I wrong about saying, I am not going to use my personal cell phone to make long distance phone calls? It's also very hard to always go next door and borrow the family members house phone when you are medically careing for 2 very active twins! And while you are on the phone they are screaming at the tops of there lungs, hitting, biteing and hurting each other! I have called before and someone thought I was calling from a pet shop with birds yelling in the back ground!LOL
I am also worried about haveing to call 911 if I dont have a cell phone and leaveing the child to run next door and call 911. I have expressed that to my DON and they just keep telling us to talk to dad, when that gets us no where! Also I can't go to doctor's office apts alone with 2 very active twins, with active seizures, oxygen tank, diaper bag, with meds' and carry two car seats because we have to ride on Medicaid transportation! So I refuse to work on the days they have apts! I will not put my license on the line like that! One could take off and run right into the street and they will look at me and say "well why did you take them if you felt unsafe?"
Sorry this is long, I am upset because I love these kids, love what I do and am just confused. Is there a chain of command in the office for something like this? Thank you very much!

[Cattitude]

Originally Posted by newflgrad

I have been on this case for 10 months doing at the most 32 hrs a week and min of 24 a week. It is for twins (very active) and have a question for anyone out there that can give me advice. One parent that use to be in the home and stay at home and go on doctor's visits and make apts and handle the refills on meds is now gone. There is a single parent in the home that works M-F day shift. We have one nurse that has joined in the care and giveing me a hard time and calling my DON and telling her I am not doing my job and I am at my wits end! There is no phone in the home, but the grandmother lives next door and it's a duplex, which I am told we can use her phone if we need to. What the problem is, I am being told I AM THE ONE That has to call and make ALL the doctor's apts and call and set up Medicaid transportation, call in all refills, etc.......... because this is a single parent and they work during normal office hours and they can't call. Am I wrong about saying, I am not going to use my personal cell phone to make long distance phone calls? It's also very hard to always go next door and borrow the family members house phone when you are medically careing for 2 very active twins! And while you are on the phone they are screaming at the tops of there lungs, hitting, biteing and hurting each other! I have called before and someone thought I was calling from a pet shop with birds yelling in the back ground!LOL
I am also worried about haveing to call 911 if I dont have a cell phone and leaveing the child to run next door and call 911. I have expressed that to my DON and they just keep telling us to talk to dad, when that gets us no where! Also I can't go to doctor's office apts alone with 2 very active twins, with active seizures, oxygen tank, diaper bag, with meds' and carry two car seats because we have to ride on Medicaid transportation! So I refuse to work on the days they have apts! I will not put my license on the line like that! One could take off and run right into the street and they will look at me and say "well why did you take them if you felt unsafe?"
Sorry this is long, I am upset because I love these kids, love what I do and am just confused. Is there a chain of command in the office for something like this? Thank you very much!

I'd be screaming with twins like this Anyway, I give you a lot of credit for having the patience up until this point. First, why on earth is there no phone in the house with sick baby twins??? Is it a financial issue? Still, I deal with medicaid pt's too and they all have a phone and a life alert box. That is a big safety issue. Unless your agency reimburses for cell phone usage you should NOT be using your private phone.

Now as far as Dr. appts. It seems to me that the parent should be going with you on these days. Why is that not happening. It should not be just one person. One person cannot carry all that stuff. Again, safety issue. When you bring this issue to your supvr. make sure you use the word SAFETY over and over. I find that they cannot argue with that. What can they say? Tell you to be unsafe???

And what about the grandmother herself making the calls? You could perhaps write down the numbers and what you need done and she could do it? Or the parent could write it out?

You know, in the beginning of my journey in home care, I ran myself ragged doing stuff for my pts. I was burning out very quickly. Now I have no problem delegating them to do it. I save my energy for the ones that really CAN't do it, my dying pt's , my 90 yr olds, etc. Most of the others are very capable and have a hdck of a lot more time than I do!!!
Hope this helps..

Beez

[caliotter3]

As part of the contract signed by the responsible parties, a copy of which was included in the field charts, the agencies that I worked for required a telephone, as well as running water, etc. in the home for them to accept the home as being suitable for home care when they opened cases. You should write a detailed report of this deficiency and send it to your DON. Of course, keep a copy. Document all breaches of a safe environment. You will have to decide how bad it has to be before you ask to be removed from the case.

You might have to report this situation to the State or other authorities if you feel that strongly about what is wrong with that picture. Rest assured, if some tragedy happens, no one will give a second thought to bringing professional and legal responsibility down on your shoulders. So, as a minimum, document this stuff and present it to your mgmt to attempt to CYA.

I have never seen a home care case which fell under the auspices of the govt for financing, where a working telephone was not avail. Usually people can find the money to have a cell phone in addition to their house phone.

[caliotter3]

Oh, and I forgot to mention: cell phones should not be relied upon as the sole communication out. My last case was in an area where cell phones didn't work, and I have on more than one occasion, had my cell phone not work for one reason or another. To me, it's better than nothing, but I know it's not to be relied upon.