Staff Safety and Emergencies in the Home
Sets out how the Agency keeps patients and staff safe in the home: the home safety assessment, what staff do in each kind of emergency during a visit, how staff stay safe on visits and on the road, how threats and violence are handled, when visits may be changed or a patient discharged for cause, and how staff injuries and hazardous chemicals are managed.
About this policy
- Policy number
- PA-HSP-SAF-01
- Version
- 1.0
- Main rule
- 29 U.S.C. §654(a)(1)
- Library
- Pennsylvania hospice · 60 policies
- Category
- Service delivery
- Sections
- 23
In short
- If you feel unsafe, do not go in, or leave. Then call your supervisor. You will never be disciplined for this.
- Check for safety flags before each visit, and check in and out for flagged or after-dark visits.
- For an expected death or a symptom crisis, call the Agency, not 911, unless the family wants emergency care.
- Never hand over a patient's medicines to anyone who asks.
- Report every injury, threat or unsafe condition to your supervisor the same day.
What's inside
23 sections. The full text comes with the One-time Policy Pack.
- Terms of Reference
- 1. Purpose
- 2. Scope
- 3. Definitions
- 4. Policy Statement
- 5. Home Safety Assessment
- 6. Emergencies in the Home
- 7. Staff Safety on Visits
- 7.1 Before the visit
- 7.2 At the home
- 7.3 Identification badges and personal safety
- 7.4 On the road
- 8. Workplace Violence Prevention
- 9. Changing Visits and Discharge for Cause
- 10. Staff Injuries and OSHA Reporting
- 11. Hazardous Chemicals
- 12. Responsibilities
- 13. Records and Compliance Monitoring
- 14. Staff Training
- 15. References
- 16. Related Policies and Forms
- 17. Approval
- 18. Revision History
An inspector may ask
- What do your staff do if they feel unsafe when they arrive at a home?
- Show me the home safety assessment for this patient.
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