Significant Strides Are Being Made in Home Healthcare – But Is It Enough?
Table of Contents
The Safety Challenges
Connecticut's In-Home Safety Grant Program
OSHA-NIOSH Lone Worker Partnership
Progress in Action: Advancing Safety Measures in Home Healthcare
Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Protection for Lone Workers
Addressing Worker Safety Concerns
Government bodies are taking steps to protect home healthcare workers. However, are the measures enough to protect these people from the serious safety challenges that they are facing every day? And are these measures being implemented fast enough with violence against healthcare workers increasing in both frequency and severity.
These are questions that need to be asked with home healthcare being one of the fastest growing occupations which, according to NIOSH, has a projected growth of 34% from 2019 to 2029 and face unique occupational challenges that need to be addressed. Occupational safety hazards such as workplace violence and assault which took the life of a Connecticut homecare nurse when she was murdered while visiting the home of a patient in 2023. Last August, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced $ 6 million for the In-Home Safety Grant Program, a state-funded program that helps provide needed safety protocols for home healthcare workers.
The Safety Challenges
This program is in response to the horrific incident that took place last year, but also the potential for violence and assault as well as the unique safety hazards that home healthcare workers face. Home healthcare workers experience a range of complex occupational hazards, with violence and harassment being the most serious.
Home healthcare workers also face occupational hazards such as dangerous slips and falls, contagious and infectious diseases and viruses, dangerous pets and animals, road and travel accidents, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and injuries, as well as high levels of burnout and emotional exhaustion due to the violence and harassment they are experiencing.
Over five years, from 2015 to 2020, 117,000 homecare workers were treated in emergency departments for injuries from these hazards, and according to NIOSH, during 2007, nearly 30,000 recorded injuries occurred among more than 896,800 home healthcare workers.
Connecticut's In-Home Safety Grant Program
Slowly, legislative change is taking place, and governments are taking official notice. Under Public Act 24-19, the State of Connecticut's In-Home Safety Grant Program is helping fund and provide its healthcare workers with safety tools and measures, such as emergency alert systems, tracking devices, and safety training.
"Ensuring the safety and well-being of both our home health care workers and the individuals they serve is a top priority for the state," Governor Lamont said on the State of Connecticut's website. "This grant program is a significant step towards providing the necessary tools and training to protect workers who provide an invaluable service to our state, especially those most vulnerable. I look forward to continued collaboration with our community partners to maximize the impact of these resources and increase the safety of home health care workers."
OSHA-NIOSH Lone Worker Partnership
Additionally, a new partnership was formed between OSHA and NIOSH, focusing on the safety of lone workers. This strategic partnership will help improve the safety and health of lone workers by developing and disseminating information about the risks of working alone and promising prevention strategies.
Progress in Action: Advancing Safety Measures in Home Healthcare
Thankfully, there are several promising prevention safety measures which can be proactively planned to protect people in this industry. Employers and employees are aware of the hazards they face and, therefore, have the foresight to mitigate and prevent them. New laws and government support can play a significant role in hazard prevention. The State of Connecticut's In-Home Safety Grant Program is an example of significant progression in work safety in home healthcare, hopefully setting a positive example and leading the way for other states, resulting in similar legislation and funding. The OSHA-NIOSH partnership is an official acknowledgment that people working alone in patients' homes are more vulnerable and require special safety measures to protect them adequately. This official acknowledgment of lone workers' unique safety hazards is essential.
Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Protection for Lone Workers
Could more have been done to protect that homecare worker in Connecticut? Absolutely. A program to provide essential safety funding would have helped. However, employers and the employees themselves can also protect healthcare workers who are alone in patients' homes. Home healthcare managers and employers can look at the following areas to significantly improve their home healthcare workers' safety such as:
Improved regular connection and communication with the employee by providing devices with easy and reliable connectivity.
A safety check-in system allows workers to confirm their safety with their manager following a patient visit and throughout the visit if that patient is considered high-risk.
Violence preparation training helps employees prepare for situations and environments with violent-prone, at-risk patients and clients.
Accurate location monitoring will allow the manager or safety monitor to send fast help to the correct location in an emergency.
Emergency communications request immediate help through a device like a panic button or a motion detection signal.
Addressing Worker Safety Concerns
Due to the high levels of burnout in this vital profession and field, employers and managers must listen to their home healthcare workers about their safety concerns and what they could use to perform their jobs safely. To accomplish this, home healthcare employers can create an anonymous online submission form and reporting where workers submit concerns and comments; they can hold employee meetings where staff voice concerns as a group; or they can have regular one-on-ones to assess occupational hazards and problems, which can be most effective.
Funding or not, it is an employer's moral responsibility to provide all the tools their employees need to provide care and services safely. The employer must also ensure that if their employees knowingly enter a dangerous work environment, they have occupational protections in place to ensure they can perform their jobs without harm.
Sources
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11152903/
https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2021/09/02/hhc-violence/