how late too see a hh pt

[pedspnp]

for home health nurses what are your hours i have a friend who tells me that sometimes he gets to a client home at 11 pm to do an infusion and can be there a while is this the norm:cool:

[chenoaspirit, ASN, RN]

11pm is not the norm. But for an infusion, it can happen. Sometimes an infusion is scheduled for certain times and therefore will need to be done at whatever time it is ordered. But this is RARE where I work. I once went out and did a steroid infustion at 9 pm. I once admitted a pediatric patient at 10 pm because they were discharged from the hospital late and went home with tube feedings and needed teaching on it. I usually get finished by 5. Sometimes Im finished by 2, depending on how early I get started and how many I have for the day.

[caliotter3]

I work the hours of my shifts, typical hours or uniquely tailored to the case. If I did intermittent visits, I would try to keep the 11 pm visits to a minimum!

[pedspnp]

this is a old classmate he states it is not unusual for him to see pts at those hours 7 nights a week, and he is also on call many time when i try to call him his mailbox is full and when he calls back his response is oh i was on a call at midnite or whenever about a gent or what ever

[caliotter3]

I would not want to be in that type of situation unless there was some kind of monetary incentive. There is a time to be at work, and a time to be off work. On call, around the clock makes for potential health problems.

[pedspnp]

i worry about the pt in this case

[caliotter3]

The agency should employ sufficient nurses that different ones can take calls for visits at various hours. If you are scheduled to work the night shift or even be on call for the night shift, then that would be acceptable, as long as the other sixteen or twelve hours of the day are left for rest and personal time. The patient is going to be sick no matter which nurse visits at any time of the day or night. If they are that bad off, perhaps they should be in a facility or have continuous care assigned to them.

[pedspnp]

I would not want to be in that type of situation unless there was some kind of monetary incentive. There is a time to be at work, and a time to be off work. On call, around the clock makes for potential health problems.

as far as monentary he tells me he makes over 110,000 a year doing hh

[caliotter3]

as far as monentary he tells me he makes over 110,000 a year doing hh

I find this hard to believe. I work for low pay and none of the agencies I have signed up with lately allow overtime. This person must work for one of the very few agencies that compensates their employees well.

[KateRN1]

Many home infusion companies have these issues and most employees know upfront that infusion staffing is different from typical home health. Infusion cases are typically paid at a premium rate, with additional compensation for on-call hours, visits made while on-call, and visits that are scheduled after hours. For our company, a regular visit pays $40 for the visit, an IV visit is $45 for normal hours. On call pay is $25 per weekday, $50 per day for weekend. Visits made on the weekend are $45 if you're scheduled for it, $50 if it's an on-call visit. If it's a longer infusion like IgG, then you get an hourly compensation in addition to the visit rate. Visits that are after hours and on-call are $60 or $65 per visit. If it's a SOC along with the visit, $150 for the visit, unless it's something very time-consuming and then an additional premium is built in. It's possible to earn a very decent living doing home infusion cases.