Can I be private duty RN for Stepdad?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Tele, Psych.

My stepdad had b/l bka 2 years ago and is on dialysis. He mentioned that the state would pay someone to do the dialysis in his home and asked if I would. I am not dialysis trained, but may consider learning how to do it. Has anyone ever heard of this? Does the state pay you directly or do you have to work for an agency? How would I go about learning how to do in-home dialysis? Does the state pay well? I'm currently a tele RN and this would be PT for me as I work 2-3 12's in the hospital. Any insight would be great.

TIA!

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Many third party payors ban payments to relatives as professional caregivers and many agencies will refuse to allow employees to care for relatives.

Too many potential liabilities and conflicts of interest.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Tele, Psych.
Many third party payors ban payments to relatives as professional caregivers and many agencies will refuse to allow employees to care for relatives.

Too many potential liabilities and conflicts of interest.

Thanks. I never thought of that.

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most states have a Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP) type program, but i don't think it pays much, budget problems have hurt most programs.

just google your state and fcsp and something should come up, give the agency a call, they should be able to lead you in the right direction.

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Agree with Jolie. If it can be determined that you are a relative, you probably won't be able to. Besides, the pay is not sufficient for an RN. Direct staff in my state get around $10 an hour, (high for this type of program), and the state has been threatening to cut that down to minimum wage for years. Through an agency, the pay is low even for an LPN. Besides, you don't want to be involved with potential family problems that might develop.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

I provide care for my husband and am employed by an agency to do so. However, it is an agency, not the state. When they approached me (knowing that I was a nurse) to provide the care, I was very leery of potential issues. However, it was thoroughly vetted and is completely legal.

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You will not get paid for it, (probably not anyway- obviously I don't know every states' laws) but your stepdad should talk to the social worker and nurses at his current dialysis center regarding his treatment options such as home hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. (They should have videos he can watch detailing these options so he know the basics before he tries to speak to his Dr- just helps). Medicare has laws in place that require centers to educate patients about these options- for two different reasons- patients who care for themselves at home have great outcomes and they also end up costing medicare less in the long run. Maybe after he learns more about these other options, he may find he only needs a "minimal" amount of help (storing supplies where they are accessible to him, etc). You don't mention the health status of your other parent and if they may be able to help. You dont have to be a nurse. Just someone with a big heart who wants the best for their loved one. So much info on the web about home dialysis. Even on Youtube!!

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