CARE POLICIES

ALL POLICES LISTED BELOW INCLUDE, BUT MAY NOT BE LIMITED TO, ALL CLIENT CONTRACTS ACROSS OUR ORGANIZATION.

PLAN OF CARE

We will create a customized personal plan of care that meets your individual needs. Please call us at the office if you wish to make any changes to either your plan of care or your scheduled visits, (e.g. number of hours needed,

additional activities needed, schedule changes etc.).

Your care is arranged through our office, not your caregiver. You must call our office regarding any changes or updates, rather than simply informing your caregiver. Please provide as much notice of any requested changes as possible.

CAREGIVERS

Our caregivers undergo an extensive screening regimen including a multi-stage interview process, a Vulnerable Sector Police Check, and professional reference checks. Caregivers attend an intensive ½ day orientation session where our policies and procedures are covered. Caregivers are required to hold current certifications in CPR and First Aid. Our caregivers are covered by worker’s compensation, and our additional liability insurance.

HOME SAFETY

We are committed to ensuring the safety of both our clients and our caregivers. Our Client Care Coordinator will conduct a home safety review as part of each In Home Assessment visit. The Client Care Coordinator may identify safety concerns during this review. It is our policy that our caregivers will not provide service to a client if the client’s home is deemed to be an unsafe working environment for our caregiver. Examples of an unsafe environment would include: a home where there is no electrical power (other than due to a temporary power outage); the presence of black mold on home surfaces; missing stair treads or railings. 

SUBSTANCE USE

We are committed to providing our employees with a safe work environment. Exposure to secondhand smoke from cigarettes or Marijuana has been proven to be hazardous to one's health. We will refuse to provide services where a client, another resident of the home, or a guest is actively smoking. Our employees will be instructed to leave the home immediately should anyone smoke in the home during their scheduled visit. We require that the home be well ventilated prior to the arrival of the caregiver if the client or another resident of the home habitually smokes in the

home. We will refuse to provide services where the client, another resident of the home, or a guest is under the influence of any Substance such as alcohol, Marijuana, or other drug. Our caregivers will not dispense alcohol to a client. Our caregivers will not assist the client with the recreational use of Marijuana, other Cannabis products, or other Substances. Where Marijuana has been prescribed by a physician it will be subject to our Medication Policy. Caregivers will be required to wear gloves when handling Cannabis edibles or oils. Where services are terminated under this clause we will charge for the entire scheduled shift. Should our Client Care Coordinator conclude that Substance use represents an ongoing hazard to the safety of our employees’ services will be permanently terminated. We will charge a reasonable cancellation fee of up to two weeks based on the client’s

normal service schedule.

CANCELLATIONS

Our company realizes that events occur from time to time that may result in a scheduled visit being canceled at our client’s request. We ask that our clients provide us with as much notice as possible when canceling a shift so that the caregiver may be rescheduled. Where a client has provided notice of cancellation less than 72 hours before the 'regular weekly scheduled start of the a caregiver visit', our company will bill the client for the entire shifts cancelled as scheduled. If the cancellation is due to the client being hospitalized, or having passed away, we will waive the cancellation fee. We provide live answer service by one of our staff members 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so that our client’s may contact us at their convenience regarding cancellations, schedule changes, and other requests/issues.

SLEEP SHIFT CONVERSION

Our overnight Sleep Shift is designed for clients who need a little assistance during the night, or like the peace of mind provided knowing that a caregiver is in the home and able to assist them if needed. We can offer this service at a discounted rate because the caregiver is permitted to sleep for a period of up to 8 hours. Our Sleep Shift policy allows for the caregiver’s sleep to be disturbed 1 or 2 times, during this 8-hour period. Should the caregiver be called upon to assist 3 or more times during their sleep period we reserve the right to automatically convert the shift into an awake shift and charge the current hourly rate for the entire shift. Caregivers are trained to report more than

2 nightly disturbances immediately upon completion of their shift. The office will then notify the client that the shift has been converted.

SECURITY

Our caregivers undergo an extensive screening regimen including a multi-stage interview process, a Vulnerable Sector Police Check, and professional reference checks. Caregivers attend an intensive ½ day orientation session where our policies and procedures are covered. Caregivers are required to hold current certifications in CPR and First Aid. Our caregivers are covered by worker’s compensation, and our additional liability insurance.fe environment would include: a home where there is no electrical power (other than due to a temporary power outage); the presence of black mold on home surfaces; missing stair treads or railings. 

GIFTING

For your protection, we ask that you not give gifts of any kind directly to caregivers. If you would like to show your caregiver appreciation, in some nominal way, please contact our office first to discuss.

INFECTION PREVENTION CONTROL

Mandatory use of Personal Protective Equipment where a client has a known infectious illness we will require the client to provide appropriate PPE for use by the caregivers. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) may include single use gloves, protective masks, face/eye shields, and single use gowns. Your Client Care Coordinator will discuss the need for PPE with you during your assessment

visit. If you are unable to supply PPE, Sr Care Barrie Inc can arrange for a supply of the needed PPE and will invoice you for it accordingly. 

REPORTING ON INFECTIOUS ILLNESS

To protect our caregivers and client care staff, we ask that all clients inform us if they have been diagnosed with an infectious illness such as the flu or any infection such as MRSA or C Difficile that require additional precautions. Your Client Care Coordinator will discuss the situation with you and determine whether services can continue as usual, whether additional precautions such as the use of PPE is required, or whether services should be suspended until the illness or infection has resolved.

MANDATORY USE OF GLOVES

It is our policy that single-use protective gloves be worn by any caregiver providing personal care services including but not limited to: assistance with bathing, incontinence care, oral care, applying body lotion, changing bed or personal linens, laundry, or cleaning of bathroom surfaces. If no gloves are available, then the services requiring gloves will not be performed.

Gloves are to be supplied by the client and will remain the property of the client. Our caregivers will not remove the gloves from the client’s home. The client will be responsible for ensuring that an adequate supply of gloves is available for the caregiver’s use. Gloves can be purchased at any drugstore, pharmacy, or medical supply store. If no gloves are available in the home we will supply a box of gloves for the caregiver’s use and will invoice the client accordingly.

HAND HYGIENE

Correctly performed hand hygiene practices have been proven to be a highly successful method for controlling the spread of illness between individuals. We train our caregivers on the best practices for performing hand hygiene. To support our caregivers in their hand hygiene practices we recommend that you have a supply of Alcohol Based HandRub (ABHR) available in your home. To be effective ABHR should have an alcohol content of between 70 – 90%. If you are not able to provide ABHR, please contact us and we can arrange to have a supply put in place and invoice

you accordingly. To make our hand hygiene efforts successful we encourage our clients to make hand hygiene a part of your everyday life. We have included information on how to properly hand wash or use alcohol-based hand rub in your information package. If you are not sure that your caregiver has clean hands, we encourage you to request that they wash their hands or use hand rub before providing your services. If you have any concerns regarding your caregiver’s hand hygiene practices, please contact us to discuss.

SHARPS

Sharps are medical devices such as needles or lancets used to puncture the surface of the skin. If sharps are in use in the home we recommend that an appropriate sharps disposal container be used.

MEDICATION

It is our policy that caregivers may assist clients with their medications, may administer certain types of medications, but may not dispense medications. The Client Care Coordinator will take note of any instructions regarding assisting with or administering medications during the In-Home Assessment Visit. These instructions will be included in each client’s Plan of Care. Assistance with medications may involve: reminding a client of a scheduled dose; gathering the medication

containers and bringing them to the client; gathering any needed equipment ie. blood sugar testing supplies, pill cutter/crusher, glass of water; opening containers; or recording medication compliance as part of a medication record. Our caregivers may administer some oral or transdermal medications. If you would like to include medication administration as part of your services, or have any questions related to this policy, please speak to your Client Care Coordinator. No medications will be administered unless your Plan of Care includes a medication protocol. Our caregivers will not dispense medication(s). Refilling daily dosage containers or pill boxes is considered to fall under the definition of dispensing, therefore our caregivers will not perform this activity.

YARD/OUTDOOR WORK

Due to insurance coverage limitations our caregivers are not able to help with any yard or outdoor work. This includes but is not limited to: snow removal; sweeping of porches, walkways, or driveways; raking leaves; mowing grass; gardening; cleaning windows or eavestroughs; cleaning or maintaining  swimming pools or ornamental ponds; etc. If you have a need for these types of services, please contact our office and we will be happy to assist you to locate a local service provider.

LIMITATIONS ON SERVICES - CAREGIVER SAEFTY

Our caregivers may provide light housekeeping assistance as part of their duties. To comply with provincial occupational health & safety regulations, our caregivers are not able to provide any housekeeping services, such as cleaning windows, which would require the use of a step stool or ladder. The caregiver is not to use any other mechanism i.e. climbing on a kitchen chair, to accomplish tasks that are out of their reach. The caregivers are also not permitted to lift or otherwise move objects that weigh more than 25 lbs or 11.5 kgs when performing any task

other than assisting the client during lifts and transfers.

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION FEES

A charge for parking may be added to your invoice when services are being provided in a location, such as a hospital, for which paid parking is required. The rate will be charged according to the individual parking lot’s posted dates. Parking will be itemized separately on your invoice and we will gladly produce the supporting receipts upon

request. When a caregiver is required to accompany the client on any mode of transportation for which a fee is charged i.e. taxi, Uber, transit, the client is required to pay for both themselves and their caregiver. When using our transportation services, the client is expected to pay all parking costs directly. Caregivers do not carry additional funds so please be prepared to cover such costs. The caregiver will be happy to accommodate any request for assistance to visit your bank or ATM if needed.

CAREGIVER MEALS

If a caregiver is engaged to provide services to a client during an event such as a wedding, lunch while shopping or running errands, or a celebratory dinner at a restaurant, the client is required to  pay the cost of the caregiver’s meal including applicable taxes and gratuity.