How Safe is Home Health

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New to home health and have concerns of the safety of entering someones home to provide them with healthcare. Has anyone every been attacked or lost their life?

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We have a nurse who was attacked by a dog. You have to use caution especially when entering for the first time. I personally have never felt threatened and I have been in extreme rural areas and inner cities. Our nurses are good to do visit alerts if there is anything we need to be aware of ie. aggressive dogs or high crime areas. One of our nurses did witness a drug deal in a home and corprate had us out of that home within hours. My advice is to always be on alert, keep your cell phone handy and if there is ever any question about your safety, leave!

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Make sure that your office will support you if you feel unsafe for any reason. I've pulled myself out of two homes where I felt threatened by family members. I had the full cooperation of my bosses, which was great. Trust your gut. As to dogs, I've been around some snarly pooches, but so far haven't been bitten. Cesar Millan can be thanked for that! :yeah:

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I actually had to DC a pt because their rooster attacked a nurse causing an injury and the pt refused to put the rooster in a coop during our visits. Needless to say, I live in a pretty rural area. I found out later that another agency DC'd this same pt because they got a pit bull that attacked a nurse (said pit bull also ate the family goat). I guess we got off lucky with the rooster.

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Oh, that is too funny, Hmarie! Are you by chance from Alabama? Sounds like some of our patients!!!

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I did home health for 10 years (Miami, Fl) never had a problem. When you go to bad neighborhoods the people usually watch out for you. Just knowing that you're a nurse makes people usu look out for you. In real life, anything can happen anywhere. But I strongly feel that home health is a very safe job. The vast majority of people treat you like a queen. They are so grateful that someone is actually coming to their house to take care of them or their loved one.

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Specializes in Gyn Onc, OB, L&D, HH/Hospice/Palliative.

I agree, I have never felt unsafe in any neighborhood, people are glad you are there to help out. In one case, I locked my keys in the car, and I was glad I was in a 'bad' neighborhood, guys came out of the woodwork, and broke back into my car so I could get in, AAA wouldn't have been there so quickly or efficiently!!!!

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Haha! Gumpy, that is pretty funny what you said about AAA would never have come that fast! The nurse that oriented me to HH this summer told me a story where she was orienting another new hire, and right next to the home chart, on the kitchen shelf was a loaded gun!!! :eek: Nothing bad happened, but police were called, and I am pretty sure the client was discharged. What a story though for that new hire!

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I live in Southern Illinois. Loaded guns in the home are very common here, we just insist that the guns are kept "out of sight" during our visit. The only time we DC'd a pt r/t a gun was a very confused gentleman who refused to give up or put away the loaded shotgun by his bed. We were supposed to "knock and go on in" and weren't very comfortable with that arrangement.

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Yesterday in broad daylight, I witnessed a verbal and physical altercation in the parking lot of a very nice, safe, local apt complex for those of retirement age.

I had just finished my visit with a patient.

Best that I could tell, 4 men were loading a rented

moving van, appeared to be moving a lady out of the apt complex.....from the style of the furnishings being removed.

Ended up one man was left sitting in the driver's seat of the rental truck, and the other three guys left as the city bus stopped at the corner.

Don't you wonder what it was all about? Money?

I just sat in the car, locked, and crouched down until it was over.......yes, talking to my supervisor on the telephone. Was not fearing for my safety, but wondering who was going to win out of the 4.

Never dull, is it!

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You know you're nursing in the sticks when...

The instructions from the admitting nurse the day before read "Honk your horn to scare the bears away (apparently they didn't back off that far, either) until you get into the house." The patient had been feeding them regularly. The nurse that day refused to go...not sure how the issue was resolved as this just happened the other day!

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.
you know you're nursing in the sticks when...

the instructions from the admitting nurse the day before read "honk your horn to scare the bears away (apparently they didn't back off that far, either) until you get into the house." the patient had been feeding them regularly. the nurse that day refused to go...not sure how the issue was resolved as this just happened the other day!

too funny but true, just the other day had the community health nurse phone my pt's mother to call pt's grandpa so that he could come kill the rattlesnake that was coiled up outside the nurse's car. she went to get out of the car, when she opened the door heard that " rattling sound" closed door, rolled down window and saw snake. she used her cell phone to place the calls to get the snake killed.

i was just ahppy that this didn't happen to me! my pt lives in a very rual area and snakes are the norm.

i am glad that so far i haven't run up on any snakes! or other country critters that are known in our part of the woods!

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