CNA's ARE NOT MAIDS!!!!!!!!!

[tushka61]

I am a CNA in Florida. I am very tired of wasting my time applying for a job as a CNA; only to have the Mgr hype up the position and find out all the client wants is a maid! I feel that I spent over $800 on CNA training and I worked very hard at it. I feel so cheated when employers think I am nothing more than a maid. I worked one day at a lady's house and told the Mgr. that's it, I am not going back to this lady's house again. The lady was rude and she gave me one chore after another. I probably got to sit down 10 minutes in 4 hrs. I tried not to argue with her and make the company look bad. I did get a new assignment from the Mgr and have a very nice lady with "light house keeping" as is always described in all CNA job titles. How do people get away with hiring a Medical Care service and get nothing but housework out of them? What is the real truth behind this scheme?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Sorry, but you will perform housekeeping duties as long as you continue to accept work in the home health and private duty sectors.

The clients receive Medicare and/or Medicaid as their payer sources. Housekeeping is a covered benefit because it's been medically deemed that these people cannot clean their own homes to their satisfaction. Hence, a CNA/HHA is sent to the client's home to perform housekeeping along with personal care.

The only way to get around this issue is to find work at a hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility since these places hire housekeeping staff.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

Sorry, but you will perform housekeeping duties as long as you continue to accept work in the home health and private duty sectors.

The clients receive Medicare and/or Medicaid as their payer sources. Housekeeping is a covered benefit because it's been medically deemed that these people cannot clean their own homes to their satisfaction. Hence, a CNA/HHA is sent to the client's home to perform housekeeping along with personal care.

The only way to get around this issue is to find work at a hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility since these places hire housekeeping staff.

But unfortunately, you will still have to collect trash, and such, because that's the nature of the job sometimes. As a nurse, I do it, its not beneath me. But, in the home health sector, many times the client expected the nurses to clean house as well. The Commuter is right, home health is known for this, and its 100% legal...

[SummitRN, BSN, RN]

Good CNAs are invaluable.

I'm sure you worked hard to get that card, but 80 hours of vocational training doesn't make you "above" "menial" work.

[Get2theChoppa]

Yes, it expected that you clean, but only to a degree. I worked in home health for about a year as a CNA. However my agency told us that basically we were only expected to do "every day" housework: washing dishes, light vacuuming, taking out the trash, etc. We were not to scrub toilets, move furniture to vacuum or wash windows.

While CNAs can help with housework, their main focus should not be cleaning the patient's house. There's a max percentage of work that can be attributed to "maid" duties. We were told that if something like 50% of the work we're doing is housework, to contact the agency because the agency is contracted to provide health services, not cleaning services. If the client needs that much cleaning done, then they do need a maid.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Good CNAs are invaluable.

I'm sure you worked hard to get that card, but 80 hours of vocational training doesn't make you "above" "menial" work.

I concur. Light housekeeping duties will be performed even in settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. Putting used meal trays away, emptying trash, making beds, wiping spills, and bagging up dirty laundry are examples of light housekeeping tasks you'll need to accomplish in the inpatient hospital/nursing home setting.

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

Having a clean environment is part of keeping the pt healthy.

When I work peds home health as RN, I would do the pts laundry. The pts not the families.

[Julius Seizure]

In a way, this falls under helping the patient with ADLs - personal care and the daily things needed to live on their own instead of in an assisted living facility.

[hookyarnandblanket]

A useful way of looking at situations like this is to put yourself in the position you find your client: Imagine the frustration, anger, and indignity of not being able to do something as simple as taking out your own trash, wiping your own counters, or even vacuuming your floors, let alone giving yourself your own shower or getting your own meds collected for taking. How would you do these things without someone to help you?

Just food for thought. Empathy is a very useful tool in healthcare.

[OCNRN63, RN]

What exactly do you expect to do if you are there for several hours? Once you help the patient with bathing/personal care, dressing and meals you've still got quite a bit of time left over. When I worked in hospice and home care I did some straightening up, washed dishes, etc., and I was only there for short visits. As a CNA, your skills are somewhat limited, so it's totally appropriate for you to help with maintaining a clean living environment.

You say you feel "cheated." What is it you envision yourself doing?

[ProgressiveActivist, BSN, RN]

Companionship, Laundry, meal preparation, bathing, dressing, and light housekeeping such as changing the sheets, taking out the garbage, vacuuming are part of a HHA job duties. This varies from state to state.

[tushka61]

Yes, thank you! I think you understand what I am saying. It was ALL housework and no hands on care. I think there is an abuse of the system and some home care services don't want to lose the account!