Home Health aides are disrespectful

Nurses Relations

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Five weeks ago I started a job as the Director of Nursing Care for a non medical home care company. I am appalled at the disrespect demonstrated to the owners and admininstrative staff by the caregivers in the field. They think NOTHING of calling the scheduler and cursing her up one side and down the other. They bad mouth the agency/office staff and owners to clients and families. They lie, smoke near clients, violate dress code, call out, dont call dont show violate Hippa, etc on a daily basis. I am beyond dumbfounded. My boss, the owner, is so beaten down right now and so disillusioned by it all she cannot move out of the fog she is living in. With my fresh eyes and fresh opinion am thinking I can turn this ship around but don't know where to start! HELP?!

If we start to terminate the violators there will not be enough staff to fill open slots on the schedule. We just do not know where to go to hire quality caregivers who desire to light of the lives of our clients! The pay is not good but we are strapped to what the VA and OOA will pay us, they do make overtime if they are good and are reliable. They actually scare me..some seem to verge on the edge of sanity at times, I would not want to meet them in a dark parking lot!

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You will not be able to turn this around until you take decisive action. Put everyone on notice at a mandatory inservice. Tell them that this is their one and only warning and that they have the opportunity to change their behavior immediately. Terminate anyone who misses this meeting without a prior approved excuse. Then, one by one, follow up on your promise. Terminate them. Things will start to change by the time you get to the second termination and the employees realize you mean business.

Approach the local agencies that provide the training with an offer to place their graduates. You will be able to get fresh employees that are eager to start their new career off right. It might take a little work to get the new hires up to speed, but it will be worth it.

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Forgot to add the positive reinforcement. After a period of say, three months, provide a raise to an employee who has shown a complete turn around or who has received one or more positive comments from clients. If you can only give a ten cent raise, at least that is something. Or, give a $25 bonus. Something monetary to acknowledge good employee behavior. You do not have to announce an incentive program. Let it come out of the blue. Employees may be encouraged if they think their efforts might be rewarded.

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Good ideas..thanks so much! I know the owner did try to do an incentive once before, she offered a check card. Everyone was asked to have their notes in by a certain time and their names would be in a drawing. The drawing consisted of ONE name!! That was before I came on board. I am ready to rock and roll....these people have got to go. They have been given chance after chance with no consequences, they are like naughty 4 year old who know all mom does is yell with no action behind it.

I just could not imagine going into the office of the director at my previous job and treat her the way our staff gets treated. Just trashy people with trashy ways of life.

Thanks for a jumping off point!

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At the mandatory inservice, make sure everyone has a copy of their job description, create a code of conduct, be clear and have in writing what the expectations are. Be clear that everyone is on warning. That going forward, anyone who doesn't abide by the expectations will be terminated. Period.

Start advertising now for per diem CNAs. The larger the per diem pool, the better. Encourage new grad CNAs. Train them how you would like them to work. The most senior per diem CNA gets the first full time offering, and so on.

But there can be hope. Once your current crew knows that you mean business, it could make all the difference. But if it doesn't, you have a viable back up plan.

Good luck!

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At the mandatory inservice, make sure everyone has a copy of their job description, create a code of conduct, be clear and have in writing what the expectations are. Be clear that everyone is on warning. That going forward, anyone who doesn't abide by the expectations will be terminated. Period.

Start advertising now for per diem CNAs. The larger the per diem pool, the better. Encourage new grad CNAs. Train them how you would like them to work. The most senior per diem CNA gets the first full time offering, and so on.

But there can be hope. Once your current crew knows that you mean business, it could make all the difference. But if it doesn't, you have a viable back up plan.

Good luck!

say it loud and proud sister!

If i fire someone, i would have no problem working their shift to set a point to the others. point= if you dont follow the rules and DO YOUR JOB, you are DISPOSABLE.

can the church say ahmen?

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