A home healthcare consultant warns providers to practice vigilance with staff now that home health companies are coming under scrutiny under a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration program.
During a webinar Wednesday, Home Health Systems Inc. consultant Mary McGoldrick told members of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice that she frequently sees home healthcare staff in the field making basic mistakes with personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Some people that I go out with are wearing goggles that don’t fit their heads. That is providing them no protection at all,” McGoldrick said.
OSHA launched the National Emphasis Program (NEP) last week focused on industries that have an increased potential for employee exposure to COVID-19. In addition to home health, the program also targets most healthcare facilities, grocery stores, restaurants, warehouses and correctional facilities.
McGoldrick advised home health providers to make sure staff can demonstrate how to properly put on and take off PPE before going out into the field. She also said they need to know how to store PPE properly and follow disinfection procedures.
“Many (workers) don’t understand the five-minute contact time. That is the time the product needs to remain wet on the surface. The staff thinks that is the time you set it, wipe it and forget it,” McGoldrick said.
While the number of COVID-19 positive cases has been declining in the United States since it peaked in January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the nation is still reporting a little more than 50,000 cases a day.
McGoldrick warned home health workers to be especially careful when coming into contact with the family members of coronavirus patients. She pointed to a Journal of the American Medical Association study that found 60% of virus transmission is caused by presymptomatic people — those who haven’t yet developed symptoms — and asymptomatic people.
