Covid and family members

Specialties Private Duty

Published

Specializes in Home Health, PDN, LTC, subacute.

Anyone have family members who are being stupid? Like out grocery shopping every day? Ready to rip my hair out. I’ve educated them until they are PO’d at me. Mom is older and set in her ways. Says she is being safe but I am concerned. Worried about client, my other client, myself and older mom I live with.

Am I being overly dramatic?

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Specializes in Med Surg.

We both have stubborn mothers.

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You are not being overdramatic. It has only occurred to me over the past two or three days that the time has past for me to be going into the grocery store. They don't have a whole lot to choose from anyway. I am going to start using the delivery services. Unfortunately, two relatives have retail jobs where they are exposed to the public on a daily basis. If they don't go in, there goes the job and entry level jobs are not easy to come by around here. One of them is struggling with whether or not they are going to quit. I don't envy them at all.

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Specializes in Peds.

It gets worse. One mom told me even though her kid is spiking fevers she will not go to hospital to have the kid tested. She assumes snce we are nurses we will care for her trach and vented kid.

I want to know,however,if I am working with a Covid pt. I want proper PPE from my agency, Unfortunately,they have none.

My agency has the dumbest protocol.

If the child has symptoms of coronavirus ,but ths parents cannot or will not get the kid tested,we as the nurses cannot refuse care to them.

Why? Because apparently, we cannot assume they have it because they do not have a diagnosis. Even though we are in a state with the second highest number of cases after NY. Real geniuses that only care about the money!

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Specializes in Home Health, PDN, LTC, subacute.

What is everyone doing about ER visits now? Can we refuse to go without getting fired? Especially if family won’t go. Last hospitalization my patient had us nurses were working for free helping the patient in the hospital to give mom a break. No problem doing this until now because I have an elderly mom living with me and another patient I see. Losing sleep over this ?

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Specializes in Private Duty Pediatrics.
34 minutes ago, Elektra6 said:

What is everyone doing about ER visits now? Can we refuse to go without getting fired? Especially if family won’t go. Last hospitalization my patient had us nurses were working for free helping the patient in the hospital to give mom a break. No problem doing this until now because I have an elderly mom living with me and another patient I see. Losing sleep over this ?

Wouldn't you send the patient to ER by ambulance?

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Specializes in Home Health, PDN, LTC, subacute.

Yes, but we usually go with them too.

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I've gone with the patient to the ER in their family car. The ambulance would not let me ride along. My agencies have instructed me to finish my charting and go home once the ambulance personnel take charge of the patient. On other occasions, I have gone with the family and give report to the hospital personnel on the patient. Once the patient was admitted I was to leave the hospital. We always have to communicate with the agency while all this stuff is going on and get their permission to go or stay or whatever. Just last week the other nurse accompanied parents when they took our client to the ER. Everything was taken care of and everybody returned home.

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BTW I went to the hospital per a mother's instruction one time and she asked me not to say anything to the agency. I was just there sort of to be in the room with the child while mom went home to shower and take a nap or whatever. She didn't want the agency to know because I was not scheduled to work and she didn't want any trouble with the agency. Against my better judgement I just did it to help ease her anxiety. I was glad I never was asked to do that again. Sometimes we contribute to our own problems when we overstep our professional boundaries. I would never repeat that act today.

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Specializes in Peds.

Any advice?

What about the parents that refuse to take the kid to the hospital ER to get tested for Covid 19?

Can I refuse to take care of the child until they get tested?

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Specializes in Home Health, PDN, LTC, subacute.

As of this week, we have to wear a “comfort” ? mask. Just paper. We have to wear it all the time while providing care. Avoiding lawsuits I think.

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11 minutes ago, Elektra6 said:

As of this week, we have to wear a “comfort” ? mask. Just paper. We have to wear it all the time while providing care. Avoiding lawsuits I think.

Our family removed the boxes of masks that our agency provided. Guess they thought the masks were provided to them and not the nurses.

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