My mother is a vulnerable disabled elder with comorbidities. I am concerned about her (and myself ) in the home with nurses/caregivers who don't follow CDC guidelines. I am not sure if its ok to ask what cautions she might be taking on the holiday. Should I ask the agency? My mom really likes this lady so I don't want to create waves but I am also concerned about her decision to travel and celebrate at two different houses this year with children ..cousins etc. Thanks!
Is she an agency employee? Have you thought about contacting the agency and expressing your concerns?
Ask them to send out another caregiver until your regular caregiver has quarantined herself and that you know that she is safe to be around your mom again.
Didn’t the OP say that the caregiver was going to visit her family?
She's going to do what she's going to do when it comes to seeing family and friends, she may or may not stick to PPE guidelines and social distancing, and there is no practical way to monitor who she comes into contact with or what precautions she takes. I don't mean this as a criticism of her, because it seems to me that almost everyone is being a lot more stringent and conscientious about the rules in theory than in practice - it's not like she's alone!
Too many people in the U.S. plan to ignore the guidelines to have household-only Thanksgiving celebrations. Did you see the survey? So I wouldn't assume the fill-in caregiver will be any better!
Even with the test, I think they suggest a 7-10 day self quarantine.
This is not the year for the huge family gatherings, etc. We are not having Thanksgiving at all and likely, a 'masked' Christmas where DH and I deliver the gifts and go home. 2 of our 3 families have had COVID, but one hasn't, so they can hang out with the 'clean families' but we can't.
This too shall pass. Dh and I will watch a bunch of movies and maybe go for a long drive---before we know it, we'll be looking back on 2020 and saying 'man, that was a bad year'. Who knows? It might bring us together as a world family, all fighting the same battle.
You can ask the agency to send someone else, but you cant be sure that they didn't holiday with family, either. Or if the people that they interact with outside of work hours had a safe holiday.
If you ask the caregiver to isolate for 2 weeks, are you paying her? Can she afford to not get paid for 2 weeks? Is she just going to get assigned to someone else for those 2 weeks?
This is a no win situation for everyone. You may lose the caregiver over this, but if she's making this decision, what other decisions is she making when shes not working that may affect her exposure? Eating out? Masking? Protesting?
Its part of why I am so frustrated with my Mom's memory care. They wont allow me to be an essential caregiver, but since she's just back from a hospitalization after a bad fall and weak still and needs extra help they have required me to pay for an aide to stay with her as she regains strength. But I dont know what these people or their families do on their off time. But, noo, I couldn't even wheel my mom in the building in her wheelchair after she was releaded from the hospital.
Ask if they have caregivers who practice the protocols.
The caregiver is not even wise enough to hide it from you. She might be unaware of the Covid risks and protocols. It is the job of the agency to send out safe caregivers.
This is very concerning especially as Covid numbers rise all over the world. You have already received some good suggestions from other posters. I have a question for you. How did you hear about the caregiver's plans? If you did not hear about them directly from the caregiver, is there a chance the information may not be accurate?
I like to think I am on the ball, but the other day I completely misinterpreted something I was told. My stress level is quite high and I flipped what was told to me and snapped back. I had to eat crow and apologize. The other person is a very good friend and was understanding once we sorted out why my reaction was inappropriate.
Thanksgiving was last month here in Canada, and I am looking forward to a quiet and potentially very lonely Christmas. I have mused out loud to friends about what we have done in the past, a big fondue dinner on Christmas Eve, followed by a big buffet brunch on Christmas Day. Neither of those events will happen this year, but if I was overheard some might think I was talking about hosting this year too.
So the next day I was in the kitchen and asked her if she cooked. That conversation led to her telling me the same thing my mom did. I wanted to ask her what precautions she was going to take and if there was family coming from out of town. But at that moment I just took some time to think about it. I wanted to ask her those questions but felt as if I was being too invasive. I just found out my mom's nurses from a different agency get tested every week. It would be reassuring if the agency tested the caregivers too. Especially because many of them work at hospitals and nursing homes part time too. Well this is all new territory. So I'll figure out the best solution. Thanks!
All of us should be as cautious as possible to avoid the risk of Covid.
Let’s hope this vaccine will lead us in the right direction and that people will take it.
I wonder how many people will refuse to take the vaccine. No one can be forced into taking a vaccine. It’s optional.
I suppose that probably quite a large number of people have concerns about receiving the vaccine.
I can’t wait for 2020 to end. Wishing happier and safer times ahead for all of us.
If it were me, I would ask the agency what kind of testing will they be requiring of their employees after Thanksgiving, It is risky.
Don't blame you.
‘It’s a virus! Believe it or not we’ve been coexisting with them since the dawn of man.
‘People need to turn OFF the televisions and actually use their brains and whatever common sense they may possess.
‘This is beyond ridiculous!
Unfortunatly this Covid thing is putting us all in "not ok" situations. It would be irrsesponsible of you to not ask. Being as your business arrangement is with an agency they have the fudicuray responsibility on this. I would call the agency first let them know you know from the caregiver as to her plans. BE PREPARED to lose her for 14 days after THanksgiving to quarantine. Even if my parent was in perfect health as this Covid thing is SOO contagious and soo risky for elderly, I would not want the caregiver around for 14 days.
Having the Agency test the employee prior to coming back to work after the holiday might do no good at all. If they are tested right after, and the test comes back Positive, chances are the did NOT become infected a day or few days previously. People are told that even with a Negative test result they should self-isolate anyway.
Day to day the safest thing you can do for yourself, for mom is :
Anyone should wear a mask.
If possible "social distance"
Wash hands often and or use hand sanitizer.
I would take the caregivers temp EVERYDAY before she enters more than a foot into the house. And go through the list of questions commonly asked almost everywhere now. (Have you traveled to an area that is designated as a "hot spot", have you had any symptoms, have you been in contact with anyone that has had a positive test result, are you having any symptoms, do you work in a long term care facility)
I think this is a talk that you should have with the agency ask what their instructions to staff has been. Do they test their employees, if so how often? What is their policy if someone gets sick? (Often people will still come to work even if they are not feeling well because they need the pay, if they were getting paid when they are sick they may be inclined to remain at home.)
If they send a replacement to you while your regular caregiver is self isolating or is in quarantine you are pretty much in the same spot since you do not know what they have done the previous week, they may have had their big family gathering the week before.
Since she is traveling and visiting 2 different families that she is not usually living with, I don't think it's too much to ask agency to quarantine her for 14 days or recommended number of days post travel. Just to be on the safe side.
Get a tablet or log of some kind for her to record her temps. Have plenty of gloves and hand sanitizer in the home. If you can locate one, get one of those thermometers that rolls along the forehead (not an oral one) and have it handy at the front door as well. These items can be used for all visitors.
Contact the agency. Check with the caregiver if she is taking precautions. Try to get her to cancel the trip. As the Governor of New York says: "Don't be the turkey this Thanksgiving. Tell your loved ones that you love them so much you are NOT coming to see them." PERSONALLY, WITH MY WIFE IN BED AT HOME 10 YEARS INTO ALZHEIMER'S I WOULD REQUIRE ANY CAREGIVER WHO DOES WHAT YOUR CAREGIVER IS DOING TO BE TESTED ON RETURN AND TO SELF-ISOLATE IN THEIR OWN HOME FOR 10 DAYS BEFORE RETURNING TO YOUR HOME. YOU CAN LOOK AFTER YOUR MUM OR GET HELP FROM ONE OR TWO OTHER CAREGIVERS WHO HAVE NOT TRAVELED.
The reality is that if visitors gather, they are just as likely to give covid19 to those they meet as to receive it from them. One USA Governor estimated that if 10 people gathered inside for a long meal there was a 50% chance that someone had covid and was transmitting it to others. With 50 million people already booked on airlines within the USA, that is probably an underestimate.
All the best in these challenging times
If you are so concerned about COVID you need to totally 100% isolate her and allow no caregivers to come over. You do the care 100% and do not ever go out and wipe everything down you buy including groceries before bringing them into the house. I mean NO visitors at all.
In case you have not noticed, about 50% to 75% of the people I seen wearing masks in stores do it incorrectly with their noses exposed which is the same as having no mask at all.
Good luck!
You are correct that any caregiver could be a source of exposure so how the agency is handling this is important. Caregivers should be routinely tested by their agencies so at least there is some oversight. In this case, the agency should be contacted to advise that caregiver will not be allowed in until 14 days and a negative test has occurred. The likelihood that this caregiver could isolate without pay for 2 weeks after the holiday is probably not high so are you better off with the caregiver you know? That is not clear because even if the family takes over for 2 weeks, they will have no idea what she is doing during the 2 weeks she is not there.
I would express your concerns to the Agency and ask what their plan is when their employees are not following recommendations from the CDC. With that being said, I don't think you're going to be able to do anything about it because it's not a mandate...it's a recommendation.
There is no point in testing her if she isn't going to quarantine for two weeks. The caregiver could have Thanksgiving with 50 people on Thursday, get tested on Monday and test negative. It can take up to 2 weeks before symptoms appear and or a test comes up positive.
Just make sure that she keeps her mask on, sanitizes her hands and wipes down everything before she leaves your moms house. That is really all you can do outside of firing the agency you've hired and taking care of mom yourself.
Definitely ask the agency what their policy is. I would suggest asking that this caregiver stay away from your mother for at least 4 days upon her return and that she then be tested for COVID - if she has been exposed and is asymptomatic, it can show up on a test then. Another thing you could do is ask the caregiver to leave a set of clothes she will change into when she arrives at your house; you can launder it between visits. You may also wish to have the caregiver wear not only a mask but a face shield as well. This disease is real and it is a serious health threat not only to frail elderly but to healthy younger people. With over a quarter million of dead in the USA, this is not a joke or something to be taken lightly.
If you require the caregiver to wear an approved mask, gloves and follow all other precautions, your mother may be as safe as she would be in the hospital.