Stna Help!!!!!!???

montinurse, BSN · Sep 4, 2006

What is STNA??

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Sep 4, 2006

State-tested nursing assistant. Similar to CNA/LNA in many places. Our CNA Forum would probably be the best place to find out a lot of this info.

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2006

I don't know...my husband, who is a paramedic and I thought about providing that type of service to the elderly or disabled folks in our rural community since they don't have many options for healthcare or typical outings in our town (you have to travel a ways to anything).

However, once we saw all the liablity involved we quickly said 'that is very unfortunate...and NO!". It is sad about all these rules and regulations that dictate even being kind and helpful. But there are sue happy folks out there just waiting for an opportunity, and well...they ruined it for everyone else!

Think about some of these scenereos that YOU would be responsible for!

1. Injury in the car from a seatbelt that causes a skin tear.

2. Complaints about your driving (remember you can't please everyone!).

3. Someone falls out of your car while getting them out because they tripped over something or got tangled in tubing/seatbelts (which is considered in your car therefore your fault.

4. A demented pt or mentally disabled person either has a behavioral episode or hits you while you are driving (I have heard horror stories from people that transport from facilities as part of the facilities services).

5. Someone accuses you of harrassment, sexual harrassment, abuse, or neglect for whatever reason they feel happened (some pts view things differently than reality).

6. Patient is lost or wanders off...not your fault if you have that as a part of your contract...however that would just hurt me so much to know that happened. And word of mouth does travel and it will wind up being on you and people not using your service because of that.

7. Accident not being your fault and causing injury to the patient.

8. Accusations that you drink, smoke, or use drugs (I have seen this too for innocent people!!!).

9. Damage to any equipment while in or getting in/out of your car.

10. Emergencies to patients while in your car/care like a stroke, heart attack, seizure.

11. And not so important to most...lots of bodily wastes left to clean up (incontinence, vomiting, bleeding, etc.) that needs to be cleaned using OSHA requirements.

Also think about how much responsiblity you wish to take with this! Do you want to escort them to the room they are going to if visiting an MD? Do you wish to be responsible for paperwork signing or delivering if the pt can't do this either? Transfers outside of you car? Etc.

I don't want to sound like a bummer on such a great and helpful idea...but the liablity is huge...look into some of the local transport service in your area and see if they will talk to you about this type of business...

catlady, BSN, RN · Sep 5, 2006

You need to do a TON of research developing your business plan before you even think about spending a penny to start. It sounds like you have a germ of an idea but really no idea how to proceed, and without solid knowledge, you're not going to be successful. Usually people who become ICs or start up a business have a lot of previous experience to back them up. You might want to try it as an employee for a while before taking the big plunge.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2006

sounds like a great idea. when my mother was getting home health services and we needed help getting her to doctor's appointments, this great area of l.a. could only come up with a company that was run by some man who charged reasonable rates. it was seniors who help other seniors. they do simple housekeeping, cooking, shopping and drive people to appointments. the problem we found was that all the people this man referred us to (this was like an agency) were unreliable. in l.a. no less! unbelievable! we found out about this company through the social services person of the home health agency. so, i would imagine that a good part of setting up a business like this is going to be marketing it. i would recommend that you start by sending out letters explaining your service to businesses that might use it, such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home health agencies, doctor's offices and clinics, perhaps churches, the daily lunch programs for the elderly (most communities have them and you can go there to eat if you pay the $2 or $4), chamber of commerce, and i'm sure there are many more. make sure you include important features such as being bonded and insured as well as any healthcare background you have. then, make scheduled follow-up appointments to visit and meet with the people who run these places so you can meet them, distribute your business cards, etc. i'd also get a sign painted on the side of your car so people can see it as you drive around town. i was impressed that the discharge planners at the local hospital had an extensive list of home health agencies, many of which i never could have found in the yellow pages! i would think your biggest clients would be the elderly, so you have to think of where they would be and that's where you need to put the word out. you are going to miss getting into the yellow pages for the next year if you don't hurry. i think the deadline is in october, ought to check on that.

i'm not sure what the public transportation is like in toledo these days, but out here in california just about every community has public transportation, especially for seniors that only costs under a dollar a ride, curbside to curbside. what we were looking for was someone to help with my mom's oxygen tank and to get her from door to door. there is a difference.