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Staff Safety, Home Safety and Emergencies in the Home

Sets how the Agency keeps patients and staff safe in the home: the home safety assessment at admission, what staff do in an emergency during a visit, how staff plan and make visits safely, how threats and violence are prevented, reported and followed up (including screening an assault as a possible DC serious reportable event), how visits are changed for safety without abandoning the patient and only within the federal rules for discharge for cause, and how staff injuries are reported.

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About this policy
Policy number
DC-HSP-SAF-01
Version
1.0
Main rule
42 CFR §418.26(a)(3)
Library
Washington, DC hospice · 60 policies
Category
Clinical tasks
Sections
21

In short

  • Check safety flags before a visit. For flagged homes, call in when you arrive and leave.
  • Do not go in, or leave at once, if you feel unsafe. Call the clinical manager, or 911 if anyone is in danger.
  • Call 911 for emergencies that are not part of the terminal illness. Call the on-call nurse for symptoms.
  • Give EMS the patient’s MOST form and our on-call number.
  • Report any threat, assault, fall or injury the same day. You will not be punished for reporting or for leaving.
  • We change how we visit before we ever consider discharge for cause.

What's inside

21 sections. The full text comes with the One-time Policy Pack.

Full text with a package
  • Terms of Reference
  • 1. Purpose
  • 2. Scope
  • 3. Definitions
  • 4. Policy Statement (29 U.S.C. §654(a)(1); 42 CFR §418.26(a)(3))
  • 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 On the road
  • 8. Threats and Violence: Reporting and Follow-Up
  • 9. Changing or Stopping Visits for Safety
  • 10. Staff Injuries and OSHA Reporting
  • 11. Responsibilities
  • 12. Records and Compliance Monitoring
  • 13. Staff Training
  • 14. References
  • 15. Related Policies and Forms
  • 16. Approval
  • 17. Revision History

An inspector may ask

  • Show me the home safety assessment for this patient and what you did about the risks found.
  • What does a staff member do if he or she feels unsafe at a visit?

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