Our home healthcare caregivers work directly with individuals within the comfort of our client’s own home. Because of this, Dobson Healthcare and our caregivers have little control over the work environment, which may contain a number of safety and health hazards. In their overview of home healthcare hazards, OSHA states “…these hazards [could] include bloodborne pathogens and biological hazards, latex sensitivity, ergonomic hazards from patient lifting, violence, hostile animals and unhygienic and dangerous conditions…” (United States Department of Labor).
Safety is a top priority for our caregivers and our clients. We want to ensure we are sending our caregivers into a home that will not pose a threat that person’s health. We must also ensure our client’s safety by taking actions such as simply changing the batteries in a smoke detector or reporting dangerous conditions to the proper authorities. Dobson Healthcare and the National Patient Safety Foundation recognizes the week of March 13-19, 2016 and National Patient Safety Awareness Week. To begin our week, we wanted to share some Basic Safety Rules to help increase awareness about patient safety.
Community Health Network. (n.d.). Home safety tips. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). Home Healthcare. Retrieved March 11, 2016.