Staff Safety in the Home and Workplace Violence Prevention
Protects staff who work alone in patients’ homes and on the road: safety screening at referral and a home safety assessment at the start of care, risk levels with written safety plans, precautions before and during visits, the right to leave an unsafe home once a supervisor is told so the patient is not left in danger, handling of threats and harassment, animals, home hazards, driving and safe patient handling, and reporting, support and review after an incident, including the N.C. Department of Labor reporting times for serious injuries.
About this policy
- Policy number
- NC-HH-HR-05
- Version
- 1.0
- Main rule
- 29 U.S.C. §654(a)(1)
- Library
- North Carolina home health · 57 policies
- Category
- Human resources
- Sections
- 28
In short
- Read the safety plan before you visit a new home, and check in when the plan says so.
- Do not go in, or leave at once, if a visit feels unsafe. In immediate danger, call 911 from a safe place.
- Then call your supervisor right away so the patient is not left without care. Never just stop going.
- Ask that pets be shut away and weapons be put away. Never handle a weapon, and never smoke in a patient’s home.
- Report every threat, harassment, injury or near miss the same day on an incident report. You will not be punished for reporting.
- Use the lifts, gait belts and transfer methods on the care plan. Do not lift alone when the plan calls for two people.
What's inside
28 sections. The full text comes with the One-time Policy Pack.
- Terms of Reference
- 1. Purpose
- 2. Scope
- 3. Definitions
- 4. Policy Statement (G.S. 95-129(1); 29 U.S.C. §654(a)(1); 10A NCAC 13J .1101(7))
- 5. Safety Screening at Referral and at the Start of Care
- 6. Risk Levels and Safety Plans
- 7. Before and During Every Visit
- 8. Leaving an Unsafe Visit Without Leaving the Patient in Danger
- 8.1 When to leave
- 8.2 The supervisor’s duties to the patient
- 8.3 Missed check-in or no contact
- 9. Threats, Harassment and Inappropriate Behavior by Patients or Others in the Home
- 10. Animals, Hazards in the Home, Smoking and Weapons
- 11. Driving and Travel
- 12. Safe Patient Handling and Other Injury Prevention
- 13. Reporting, Care and Support After an Incident
- 13.1 Report and care
- 13.2 Reports to the N.C. Department of Labor
- 13.3 Support and follow-up
- 14. Yearly Staff Safety Review
- 15. Responsibilities
- 16. Records and Compliance Monitoring
- 17. Staff Training
- 18. References
- 19. Related Policies and Forms
- 20. Approval
- 21. Revision History
An inspector may ask
- How do you find out whether a home is safe before a nurse or aide goes there?
- What does a staff member do if a visit becomes unsafe, and how do you make sure the patient is not left without care?
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