Do you tell your family members you visit patient in the bad neighboorhood.

Nurses General Nursing

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I made the mistake of (I guess mistake) of telling my family I have a pt in an extremely bad neighborhood,like one of the baddest neighborhood in the inner cit (the crime rate is awful).Now they are freaking out telling me to drop this patient...I'm new to home health care and I only have a few patients.I want to continue to see my patient but my family gives me hard time and pressure me to have a talk with my boss...So how do you deal with you family in regards to those matters;I cant pick the neighborhoods of where I'm visiting my patients;there will be good,fair and bad neighborhoods. Do you simply just do tell them if you going into bad neighborhood or is it better leave this part out of the story?

I have done home visits in the past in some truly terrible, crime-ridden neighborhoods. I mean, places where I drove in and everyone stopped what they were doing, became utterly silent, and openly stared at me until I entered the building. It often felt very hostile. I half expected to not have a vehicle when I came back. I almost fell through the floor of a building once because I didn't know the flooring was rotted out and that you were supposed to walk near the walls.

I always felt better about my family knowing exactly where I was, so that if I didn't give my husband a call after an hour, he could check up on me. Likewise, I did a lot of home visits in very rural areas in all kinds of weather, with less than optimal road conditions. Bottom line, going out on the road and into someone's home is an unknown, and always has the potential for danger, either because of crime or accident. I simply always checked in with my husband or a friend at work when I left for a home visit, and when I was on my way home from one.

Wow scary story.Thanks for sharing.My patient's floors are also rotten,and there are bugs everywhere and I mean everywhere.

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Ive been a stay at home mom for many years, however, about 16 or 17 yrs ago I worked home health as an aide.. I had a client in one of the worst areas around, there was a crack house about 3 houses from one of my clients. I was alittle nervous to start, but the patient was a wonderful little lady who needed help and had no family in the area. I always wore my scrubs and stethoscope so that the people in tthe neighborhood knew what you were there for. There was a group of "kids" who hung out on the corner there and after my first few visits they would always say Hi and ask me how mrs. ** was doing.... No matter where people live they need help and someone has to do it... I have often thought of going into home health as a nurse, for that reason alone, we shall see... Good luck with your family!

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Specializes in Tele, Home Health, MICU, CTICU, LTC.

I used to work in home health and I loved it. I worked in all kinds of neighborhoods - the good, the bad, and the downright awful. Honestly, I never had any problems. Although I did always make sure that someone knew where I was going. My experience was that people even in the worst neighborhoods respected "the nurse" and would not tolerate anyone "messing with the nurse". I often had a family member who would offer to walk me out to my car. Be safe and be smart!

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Specializes in Oncology, Rehab, Public Health, Med Surg.

I worked home health in Dallas for many years and made numerous trips into the "bad" areas.

I always made my trips before noon and tried to be as saftey aware as possible. I always wore a white lab coat so I could be identified. And you know what?

People watched out for me. They knew I was there to help one of theirs and neighbors would watch my car while I was in the visit---they'd have their grandsons escort me to my car---I never, ever had a problem and met some of the nicest, most caring people .

Just another viewpoint.

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Ive been a stay at home mom for many years, however, about 16 or 17 yrs ago I worked home health as an aide.. I had a client in one of the worst areas around, there was a crack house about 3 houses from one of my clients. I was alittle nervous to start, but the patient was a wonderful little lady who needed help and had no family in the area. I always wore my scrubs and stethoscope so that the people in tthe neighborhood knew what you were there for. There was a group of "kids" who hung out on the corner there and after my first few visits they would always say Hi and ask me how mrs. ** was doing.... No matter where people live they need help and someone has to do it... I have often thought of going into home health as a nurse, for that reason alone, we shall see... Good luck with your family!

Yeah my patient is in really bad shapes.The house is totally devastated;floors are rotting,no hot water,toilet is not working,many bugs crawling on the floor.My patient has a bad constipation and takes expired meds (he even had a cold syrup from 2004 !) The man obviously needs medical assistance at least until he gets his constipation relieved and gets a doctor to check him out.The doctor suppose to go there soon.

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

I'm not the type of girl to let people tell me what to do or what not to do (yep, I'm stubborn - I admit it!) and my DH knows this so he usually doesn't bother trying, but recently I mentioned that I could apply for a home health agency that is short on nurses and he put his foot down and said no way no how he'd rather get a 3rd job. There are several pretty bad neighborhoods in our area and he doesn't want me to risk it.

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I used to work in the school system as a behavioral modification assistant. I accepted a job in a pretty poor neighborhood school, my family was against it obviously, but I kept with it, until I was threatened and then I made the decision to put my notice in. If you think you are ok with going into those neighborhoods then you probally are. Good luck!

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I'm a home health nurse and I work in a city with one of worst crimes in the nation. Here's my 2 cents on the situation. TRUST YOUR GUT. All patients need care, regardless of where they live--but if you cross into an area that you don't feel safe getting out of your car, then you keep driving. I've been into some pretty slummy places, and I've only even canceled a handful of visits due to safety issues. No job is worth your life or your safety. If you are concerned about some of the neighborhoods you are entering, talk to your manager and see if there is an escort service that your company uses (many are retired and/or off duty police officers). But finally, be aware of your surroundings....even the best neighborhoods can turn bad and ugly in the blink of an eye--my preceptor once told me that the slums were the slums because that's where crime lived, not because that's where they worked.

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Yeah my patient is in really bad shapes.The house is totally devastated;floors are rotting,no hot water,toilet is not working,many bugs crawling on the floor.My patient has a bad constipation and takes expired meds (he even had a cold syrup from 2004 !) The man obviously needs medical assistance at least until he gets his constipation relieved and gets a doctor to check him out.The doctor suppose to go there soon.

This does not sound like it would be considered a safe environment, even for the patient. In my agency they would not be admitted due to an unsafe environment.

Also, consider telling your agency about your safety concerns about this patient, their home, and their neighborhood. Does your agency really consider it a good practice to send you into this? Think about how your bosses would react to the following statement "It's pretty icy on the roads where I am."

Would they expect you to risk life and limb for the weather? Then why for the environment (drugs, fire safety, hygiene issues)?

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

I've had several pts in "bad" neighborhoods and I've never had a problem. Someone (job or husband) ALWAYS knows when I'm going there and if they don't hear from me within an hour they are calling me. Going before noon is a good idea, but people usually die late at night and not once have I had any problems. The family usually waits for me outside and walks me back to my car. All people, even ones in bad neighborhoods, need medical help from time to time.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

If you are wearing scrubs? It might also help because it has been my experience that even the thugs are less inclined to bother a nurse who is coming in to help someone in the neighborhood. Like others have written my family has no say in where I work or what I do.

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Specializes in Infusion Nursing, Home Health Infusion.

I just assume crime can happen anywhere..the good..the bad and the ugly.... and I take reasonable and prudent precautions. A pts history can also give you BIG clues about there psychosocial issues. Sometimes even your initial phone conversation can give you BIG clues. I have only once refused to see a home care patient b/c her husband kept screaming at me because I did not call him sooner and it was the day before when I was supposed to call. I could tell that no matter what I did the next day it was going to be wrong so I called and asked that another nurse be sent and wrote a report on his abusive behaviour . Ironically after our nursing management read the report they contracted the nursing care portion to another. So here are some things I do

1 Schedule those visits early and in daylight only

2 Scan the area before you exit the car and do not get distracted when gathering your supplies to take ,,have them ready to grab and go....never leave your car unlocked and alarm it if you have that feature....do not leave any visible valuables out in plain view

3. Call the patient when you arrive and have them come to their front yard or the caregiver if there. You will be less of a target if others are present..kind people will do this for you.

4 Carry your cell phone with you

5 Carry a personal alarm on your key chain..they are loud and often will deter an attacker,,they want easy prey

6 Never park near a a van esp one with those long sliding doors where it is hard to see in and they can grab you fast and go....these are often used to grab you and drag you in fast ... I refuse to park near any large van like that in any parking lot and have even been know to climb in through my passenger side if they park near my driver side after I have parked

7 Carry pepper spray or whatever is legal in your state of that nature

8 DO NOT get involved in any road rage..control your temper. some.crazy people will shoot you if you cut them off

IF at any time you feel unsafe in a patients home and you personal safety is threatened you can leave...go to a safe location and call your agency

9 If you get a referral and NO other home care agency will take the pt...find out why...often they have burned their bridges.....a nurses safety is much more important than money making

10 Trust your instincts..they are usually right on!

11. Have a flashlight in your bag in the event your visit goes longer than expected

12 IF for any reason someone attacks you and tries to take you from that location>>>>>FIGHT LIKE HELL TO NOT LEAVE that location...the odds are if you are taken from an abduction site you will be killed or left for dead somewhere else

13 Consider a self defense course...many women centers associated with health care and hospitals offer them

I believ that if you tell your family that yu will take thses precautions in all locations they will feel a bit better

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