Client Handbook

ABC
Home Care

Client Handbook

Your Town, State

(333) 444-5555

www.ABCHomeCare.com

Last Updated: MM/DD/YYYY

Last Updated: MM/DD/YYYY
HomeCareHowTo.com
ABC Home Care Services Client Handbook

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ABC Home Care Services Client Handbook

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABC HOME CARE SERVICES OFFICE(S) ...................................................................................................... 3
HOW TO REACH OUR OFFICE .............................................................................................................................. 3
MISSION, VISION & VALUES .......................................................................................................................... 4
OUR MISSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
OUR VISION ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
CAREGIVER MOTTO:........................................................................................................................................... 4
ABC HOME CARE VALUES: ................................................................................................................................ 4
ABOUT OUR SERVICES.................................................................................................................................... 6
HOME CARE SERVICES ....................................................................................................................................... 6
Hourly Care (4+ Hour Visits) ........................................................................................................................ 6
Hourly Care (8-hour, 12-hour or Around-the-Clock 24-Hour Care)........................................................... 7
Live-In Care .................................................................................................................................................. 7
Overnight Care ............................................................................................................................................. 8
TRAINING, EDUCATION AND RESOURCES ............................................................................................................. 8
SERVICE ACTIVITIES WE PERFORM ........................................................................................................... 9

SERVICES THAT CANNOT BE PERFORMED ............................................................................................. 10

WHAT CAN I EXPECT?................................................................................................................................... 11

First Day..................................................................................................................................................... 11
Start and End of Shift .................................................................................................................................. 11
Invoicing and Payment ................................................................................................................................ 12
Retainer Deposits ........................................................................................................................................ 12
Supervisory Visits........................................................................................................................................ 12
Services on Holidays ................................................................................................................................... 12
Satisfaction Surveys..................................................................................................................................... 13
Who Will Be Showing Up To Provide My Care? .......................................................................................... 13
THE ABC HOME CARE TEAM ...................................................................................................................... 13

POLICIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT .................................................................................................... 15

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES ........................................................................................................................ 16

DNR NOTE: .................................................................................................................................................... 16
ELDER ABUSE AND MISTREATMENT ........................................................................................................ 16
WHAT DOES ELDER ABUSE MEAN ? .................................................................................................................... 16
STOP ABUSE BEFORE IT HAPPENS: ..................................................................................................................... 17
IF WE LEARN OR SUSPECT THAT ABUSE IS HAPPENING: ..................................................................................... 17
CONFIDENTIALITY ........................................................................................................................................ 17
WHAT IS CONFIDENTIALITY? ............................................................................................................................. 18
CLIENT FILES ................................................................................................................................................... 18
MAKING A COMPLAINT OR COMPLIMENT ............................................................................................. 18
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH ABC HOME CARE ........................................................................ 18

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ABC HOME CARE SERVICES OFFICE(S)

We are located at:

1234 Your Street

MyTown, WA 98765

Our Administrative Office hours are:

Monday to Friday ................... 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday .............. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Holidays .................................. Closed

Our Services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

How To Reach Our Office

Its easy to reach us, just give us a call. The phone number of the office is
333-444-5555
or if you prefer, our email address is [email protected].

When you call the office during normal business hours, our Staff Coordinator or a
Supervisor will usually answer the phone. He/She will direct you to the person
you need to talk to or help you immediately. If you call after hours or when the
office is closed, you will be forwarded to our on-call supervisor.

If you need to cancel or reschedule a scheduled appointment, you should call the
office and let someone know as soon as possible. Please remember that
appointments cancelled less than 24 hours in advance are still charged the
minimum service visit.

If you get our voicemail afterhours, please leave a message and we will call you
back as soon as we return to the office, usually the next business morning.
Anyone can leave a message for us whenever they want. We do check our
messages after hours and on weekends; If you receive our voicemail and have
an emergency matter that must be addressed immediately, please let us know to
its an emergency and would like someone to call immediately.

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MISSION, VISION & VALUES

Our Mission
ABC Home Care is committed to helping our seniors stay
independent in their own homes for as long as possible while
exceeding our clients expectations. We will treat each of our clients
with honesty, integrity, reliability, respect and consistency while
honoring their privacy, dignity, property and family customs.

We accomplish this by employing only first-rate staff members who

embrace the values of ABC Home Care. Every staff member will
show their joy of providing seniors with excellent care by maintaining
ABC Home Cares high level of ethics and integrity, and give their
very best in everything they do, day after day.

Our Vision
ABC Home Care provides the very best of home care services to
seniors of communities we serve. Our clients enjoy reliable,
trustworthy, knowledgeable and compassionate care services in a
consistent manner which exceeds client expectations on a regular
basis.

Caregivers Motto:

I will perform all my care services and duties with honesty, integrity,
confidence, compassion, cheerfulness and dedication. In all my service
I will treat each client as if they are my family, with honor, respect and
dignity.

ABC Home Care Values:

Professionalism
Consistency
Honesty & Integrity
Compassion
Ongoing Training
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Professionalism:

ABC will always be professional in our in-home care services provided.

ABC will respect the clients personal privacy and physical items.
ABC will treat every person with honesty, respect and dignity.

Consistency:
ABC Staff will follow each Care Plan and make sure that each client gets the same
first-rate level of care, each and every visit.
ABC Staff will always accurately record the Start Time and End Time using the
timekeeping system set forth by ABC Home Care.
Each employee makes it a priority to be on time to every shift and understands that
excessive tardiness is unacceptable to ABC Home Care standards.
ABC Staff makes every effort to maintain consistency with our placement of
Caregivers in your home.

Honesty & Integrity:

ABC Home Care Employees will be honest with all clients.
All information in the Care Plan is strictly confidential and will not be shared with
others outside ABC Home Care.
ABC Home Care will never take advantage of clients in any way.
ABC Home Care staff will always strive to fulfill the responsibilities outlined in each
client Care Plan.
ABC Home Care staff will document what was done each day at the end of every
shift.
Caregivers will never solicit ABC Home Care clients for private care.

Compassion:
ABC Home Care staff always strives to adhere to the common goal of performing
my collective duties with confidence, concern, commitment, cheerfulness and care. I
will treat every contact as a friend, every client as family and perform every task with
honor.
We will treat each client with respect and dignity and remember that they are adults.

Ongoing Training:
Every Caregiver of ABC Home Care is required to complete the required caregiver
training program within 90-days of their first assignment.
Every Caregiver is required to be First Aid Certified within 90-days of hire and keep it
from expiring going forward.
All employees agree to seek out education that enhance their skills and help them
grow in their career development.
Every Caregiver is required to complete at least 6 hours of ongoing training each
year.

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ABOUT OUR SERVICES

ABC Home Care is a privately held company that provides services geared toward
assisting elderly individuals live a safer, more fulfilling life. Each of our available
services are offered to provide support to people with age related issues and chronic
disabilities. These services are:

Home Care Services

ABC Home Care specializes in providing medical / non-medical, in-home companion
and personal care for the elderly. We offer many in-home services including
companionship, light housekeeping, laundry, meal planning and preparation, incidental
transportation, errand running, and personal bathing and grooming assistance.

ABC Home Care provides personalized home care services to people of all ages,
physical conditions and cognitive levels. We specialize in quality in-home senior care,
including professional nursing, personal care, Alzheimers care, dementia care, and
many home care services in the home, the hospital, long-term assisted living facilities
and other places of residence.

Hourly Care (3+ Hour Visits)

Each time a ABC Home Care Caregiver makes a service visits, they are planning to be
there for at least the next four consecutive (3) hours, in accordance with the hours
outlined in your Care Plan.

Three hours is the minimum number of hours that ABC Home Care will provide
services. If you wish to send your Caregiver home before the 3 hours, that is fine with
ABC. However, the full 3 hour minimum will be charged. Visits which last longer than 3
hours are charged only the hours as used.

For Example:

2.25 hours = 3 hour minimum charged

3.00 hours = 3 hour minimum met
3.25 hours = 3.25 hours charged
3.75 hours = 3.75 hours charged
5.00 hours = 5.00 hours charged

ABC Home Care believes that the best in-home care experience comes by maintaining
consistency of the people who visit. As much as possible, ABC Home Care strives to
keep the same Caregivers on regular and consistent schedules. However, there may
be times and circumstances out of our control that require us to change the visiting
assistant(s). As a result, ABC Home Care is not able to guarantee 100% coverage of
care 100% of the time.

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Here are some tips weve found help to provide consistent care:

If services are needed only once and a while, the chances of getting the same
person are very limited. The chances of getting the same person can be
increased (but still not guaranteed) by increasing the advanced notice to ABC
Home Care

ABC Home Care knows that you wouldnt throw your loved one into the first
home that has a caregiver. Just the same, we appreciate advanced notice and
time to put together quality care schedules.

Individuals who have regularly scheduled visits every week from ABC most often
get the same Caregiver each and every visit.

Keep in mind that each Caregiver has their families, schedules and lives that
require coordination also.

Last minute service requests are more about looking for whos available at last
minute and less about finding the perfectly qualified fit of person that, given a few
days, can arrange schedules to be the very best fit in your home.

Hourly Care (8-hour, 12-hour or Around-the-Clock 24-Hour Care)

ABC Home Care offers full time care each day, from 8 hours a day to Around- the-
Clock 24 hour care. This type of care typically is scheduled in 8 to 12 hour shifts and
often requires 5 to 10 different Personal Assistants.

This type of care is billed at an hourly rate because Caregivers are awake and alert the
full 24 hours. These services are most often for clients who require more assistance
such as someone dealing with severe dementia or Alzheimers, is bed ridden, has
Hospice, or gets up frequently during the night and requires assistance to do so.

Live-In Care
A Live-In is a Caregiver who Lives with a client and is available on a 24-hour basis. A
Live-In provides the appropriate level of personal care and support services for clients
who need the security of another person in their homes throughout the day, but do not
require constant shifts of care. Live-Ins provides safety and companionship under
reasonable work conditions.

If a client needs a Live-In seven days a week, usually two to three Caregivers will
serve 2-5 consecutive days each week. As much as possible, ABC Home Care strives
to keep the same Caregivers on regular and consistent schedules. However, there may
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be times and circumstances out of our control that require us to place different
Assistant(s) in and as a result, ABC Home Care is not able to guarantee 100%
coverage of care 100% of the time.

Federal and State Labor laws do apply with Live-Ins and monitored closely as follows:.

Caregiver must have a private room / private quarters.

To perform Live-In Services, a private room is needed to for the Assistants
belongings during the live-in days they are assigned. The room should include at
least a twin size bed for the Assistant to sleep each night.

Caregiver MUST have 6 hours of sleep, 5 of which must be uninterrupted sleep.

Your Assistant is able to get up once in the night to attend to your needs.
However, if they are woken two or more times in an evening, laws require that
the Caregiver is paid hourly through the night instead of the daily rate.

Caregivers are entitled to 3 meal hours per day and should be able to have the
ability take that time off site if they decide to do so.

The client should be able to be left alone for at least an hour or so, should the
Caregiver choose to take the break(s) outside the home.

Overnight Care
Overnight care provides the opportunity for the primary caregiver to take a break and
get a good nights rest. A Caregiver will be at your home for 8 to 12 hours throughout
the night to ensure that bathroom visits, sleep walking, wandering or other activity that
should be supervised to ensure health & safety.

Peace of mind is what the primary caregiver gets, knowing the care is covered while
they get a solid, and often badly needed, good nights sleep. Typically the Caregiver will
read a book, watch television quietly, or some kind of quiet hobby (i/e: quilt, laptop
computer, etc), readily available as soon as any activity is seen or heard. This service
is basically Senior Sitting where the activities are often minimal and/or limited to how
often the individual wakes each night and what the needs are when awake.

Training, Education and Resources

ABC Home Care is dedicated to the education on health and care issues in our
local community. We are available for public speaking engagements to local
organizations. Topics include: Care Planning, Memory Loss, Preventing Falls,
Seniors Housing Options, Diabetes and much more.
You may also attend our Caregiver training courses, they are open for attendance
and the focus is always on caring for individuals in their homes, both by
professionals as well as a family member. If you would like to attend, please call
our offices and request current scheduled dates.
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SERVICE ACTIVITIES WE PERFORM

All of our services are medical or non-medical in nature. The following is a list of
non-medical services that our Caregivers may routinely perform, however, this
list is not exclusive of other reasonable requests. Always check with the Care
Coordinator if you are unsure about whether or not we can perform a service.

Please remember that while we are providing a service to assist with activities of
daily living, keeping our seniors in their own home. We are not doctors, nurses or
geriatric case managers. Each Caregiver has varying level of experience and may
express an opinion in the course of their service, however, Health Care directives
and medical issues should be consulted with and addressed to your doctor(s).

Light Housekeeping Miscellaneous Errands & Live-In & Sleep Over

Dusting Companionship Transportation Services
Vacuum Conversation Grocery and Sleep or stay
Tidy up of kitchen Cook together clothes shopping awake overnight
Organize closets Pet Care Buy stamps, mail Help with dressing
Change bed linens Supervise home packages Assist with hygiene/
Light maintenance such Pick up brush teeth
laundry/Ironing as housecleaning, prescriptions Tuck in
Load & unload etc. Take to Dr. Prepare breakfast
dishwasher Play board games Appointments
Help organize Arts and Crafts Attend church Personal Care
cupboards projects services Monitor bathing for
Tidy up bathroom Medication Theater/movie safety
Sweep hardwood or reminders events Bathing Assistance
bare floors Answer the phone Dine out for meals Personal Hygiene
Read Drive to family Grooming
Do crossword gatherings Continence Care
puzzles Handle dry-cleaning Dressing
Watch TV Assistance
Monitoring for
Safety & Security

Note: While our Caregivers provide fantastic care and work to ensure safety, ABC
Home Care does not guarantee that falls or emergency situations will not occur. In the
event of an emergency the Caregiver will follow the emergency procedures outlined in
your Care Plan.

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SERVICES NOT PERFORMED

Licensing laws and Insurance regulations dictate what services are considered
medical in nature vs. non-medical. Certain services can be performed by non-
licensed providers of in-home care. As a rule we are not able to assist with anything
that involves or requires needles, knifes, razors or bio-hazards. By way of these laws,
the following services are not performed by our non-medical Caregivers:

MASSAGES: We will be happy to escort clients to a certified massage therapist

or physical therapist. We cannot give massages.

HEAVY HOUSEKEEPING: Our Caregivers are NOT professional cleaners and

therefore arent qualified to perform heavy cleaning duties like cleaning windows,
scrubbing floors, scouring ovens or perform outdoor landscaping activities.
We do happily assist with tidying up common living areas, vacuuming, dusting
and watering flowers, light sweeping of patios or help coordinating and oversee
the activities we cant do, using the right professional(s).

MEDICATIONS: We cannot touch or dispense

medications. We can only remind a client to take
prescribed medications that have been properly pre-
portioned in daily pill boxes by the family, nurse or
Hospice.

HEAVY LIFTING: We are not able to lift dead weight or more than 25 pounds.
We DO assist clients who use walkers, wheelchairs or need standby assistance
to get up.

MEDICAL DUTIES: We are a NON-MEDICAL service which means that the

use of medical knives, needles, pins, pokers, etc. sharp objects or tools on or
near a client is forbidden. For example, we can TALK a person through taking
their blood sugar level, but cant do any of the testing with/for the individual. They
or a family member must do it themselves.

NAIL TRIMMING OR HAIR CUTTING: We can NOT trim nails or trim hair.
We will happily help coordinate and escort the client to a licensed manicurist,
podiatrist or hair salon/stylist.

SHAVING: We cannot shave any client with a razor blade. However, we can
help a client shave using electric shavers.

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES: We will only call 911 and stabilize the

surroundings to avoid further injury. If staff members are CPR or First-Aide
Certified, they may assist in their discretion under the Good Samaritan Act.

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In the event we are not able to perform a specific task which may require different
professionals outside the services ABC Home Care provides, we will be happy to assist
coordinating and overseeing the professionals as they come in.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
First Day
The first few visits (a few days to week) are often uncomfortable. Often, Home Care is a
dramatic change for everyone involved. You want to be liked and your Caregiver wants
to do a really good job for you.
To help ease the (sometimes) initial awkwardness, heres what you can expect:
1. Caregivers arrive to your door and introduce themselves. Youll know they are
from ABC Home Care by their badge and uniform. They are there for you and will
want to ask about your interests, hobbies, how you like tasks done.
2. They will review the Care Plan Book information with you.
3. They will work with you to develop a task schedule based on your normal routine.
4. They will ask you to help make a list of your food preferences. You can show
them favorite recipes you would like included in your meal plans.
5. In the first week or so, they will ask permission to perform an evaluation of the
Homes Safety.
6. Your Caregiver will begin performing tasks as scheduled in your time and
direction.

Our Caregivers are trained to assist you in staying in your own home. We encourage
our clients to stay as active and as involved as each is able. Stay active, look for ways
to keep involved. If you enjoy cooking but have trouble standing; sit down and do the
cutting. If you like to garden, help plan the garden and guide the staff member how to
plant the seeds for you. You will find that sharing tasks and companionship makes you
very happy and gives you a sense of purpose.

Start and End of Shift

At the beginning of each shift, your Caregiver will ask to use your phone using a toll free
1-800 number to Time-In and notify us that they have arrived on time; they will
typically check the documentation log in the Care Plan for any notes from family or other
staff since the last visit.

At the end of the shift, your Caregiver will make visit notes/documentation in the Care
Plan Book of what activities and services that were performed during the shift and any
notes for family, or other staff. The Caregiver will then call the toll-free 1-800 number to
Time-Out, marking the time of departure and any miles for outings that day.

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Invoicing and Payment

You will receive an invoice by mail or email, depending on
your preference, every 2 weeks once on our regular
billing cycle. On the invoice you will notice detailed
records of who and when services were provided.
Payment is due upon receipt and late charges will apply if
more than 10 days late. You can send payment by check
in the mail or credit card which can be billed each billing
cycle.

Retainer Deposits/Security Deposits

The Retainer Deposit submitted to begin service is a security deposit, not a
prepayment. The deposit stays on your account and is applied to outstanding invoices
when services have stopped or are no longer needed. The Retainer Deposit is NOT
prepayment to your 1st invoice. Up to date accounts have invoices paid promptly upon
receipt and always show the credit balance in the amount of the original Retainer
Deposit. The Retainer Deposit on your account should be equal to the estimated service
hours of two weeks, multiplied by the hourly rate.

Supervisory Visits
Your Care Coordinator will schedule visits by a Supervisor from time to time during
service. These visits may last from 5 to 30 minutes; and they may be scheduled or
spontaneous. During their visit, you can expect the Supervisor to look through the Care
Plan book for any updates or information, as well as to log sheets or other records. If
you have any questions or concerns, this is a great opportunity for you to ask.

Services on Holidays
On Holidays, ABC Home Care happily ensures you have uninterrupted service. We also
try hard to provide our Caregivers the time off to spend time with their own families.
For clients who desire Holiday Care, the Holiday rate is 1.5 times (150%) the normal
hourly or daily rate. You may alternatively choose to cancel service on the Holiday at
no charge with more than 24-hours notice of the cancellation. We request several days
notice out of professional courtesy.

Holidays that ABC Home Care recognizes are:

December - New Years Eve
January - New Years Day
January - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
May - Memorial Day
July 4 - Independence Day
September - Labor Day
November - Thanksgiving Day
December 24 -Christmas Eve
December 25 -Christmas Day

If you have plans to go away on holidays or have family visit, please call the office to let
them know as soon as you are able.
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Satisfaction Surveys
Throughout the year we send out service satisfaction surveys to random clients. If you
are selected, please take the opportunity to answer the questions honestly and
candidly. Your feedback is extremely important and we sincerely appreciate all the
feedback received, using it to create and improve upon quality systems within ABC
Home Care to provide you consistent, excellent service. If you have any concerns in
any area, we will contact you and work to make sure youre 100% satisfied.

Who Will Be Showing Up To Provide My Care?

Our diverse staff comes from a wide range of backgrounds and the most important
characteristic about all of them is that they sincerely care about our clients and families!

We work hard to best match our clients and caregivers based both from a skill set and
personality traits. If you feel that you do not have a good match or other concerns,
please contact us and well work to solve the problem or replace the Personal Assistant.

From time to time, staff members may need to move on to other opportunities or their
schedules change. In these cases we make arrangements to have a new team member
arrive, and whenever possible, to train in advance.
ABC works diligently to provide the smoothest transition possible. In the unfortunate
circumstance that we do not have this opportunity or if your Caregiver is sick, an
alternate will be assigned to cover the normally scheduled shift.

THE ABC HOME CARE TEAM

You will meet new people when ABC Home Care comes to you! This is a list of our
office staff and what they do. This list is in order of who you will most likely meet first.
You will receive notice of changes/additions to our office staff, what they do and when
you should contact them.

CEO
Your Name, ABC Home Cares founder and current CEO, is in charge of
marketing and growing the company while overseeing the general operations.
This includes overseeing all client activities. He/She makes sure that everything is
okay with the delivery of our care, plans and programs. If you ever have a dispute
that can not be resolved, or a comment of appreciation, He/She always has time to
talk with clients.

Office Manager
The Office Manager or Care Coordinator is most likely the first person you will talk
with when you call the office. She answers the phone, takes care of billing and
payroll, and makes sure the office runs smoothly just to name a few of the many
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tasks shes responsible for. If you have any questions the Office Manager will
probably answer them or tell you who to talk to.

Care Coordinators
Your Care Coordinator will coordinate your schedules with our Caregivers for
home care services.

Their job is to help ensure your care coordination and schedules are being met by
ABC Home Care. The coordinator will always listen to you and do their very best to
provide the care on the schedules you need. If you have any questions or
problems you can talk to your Coordinator.

Caregivers / Care Service Providers

ABC Home Care Services comes to you by way of our Caregivers and Certified
Specialists. Your Care Coordinator will match a Caregiver to work with you and will
conduct visits from time to time to ensure your care is exactly what you need, when
you need it.

Caregivers will assist you in your daily living activities. They will focus on getting to
know you - what you like, what things you are good at, and how you would like
things done in your home. They will plan and execute household chores and fun
activities to do together. If there is anything you feel you cannot do alone, your
companion aide will help you.

If you are not feeling well, your Caregiver can take you to the doctor. They can also
help you keep in touch with your family and friends.

Care Supervisors
Our Care Supervisors help to ensure your care is first-rate and consistently
delivered.

Their job is to help ensure your caregivers are providing you the very high
standards ABC Home Care is proud to deliver. The Supervisor will always listen to
you and do their very best to address any concerns you may have, or congratulate
a caregiver for doing such a great job. Supervisors typically make announced and
unannounced visits while the caregiver is working. If you have any questions or
problems you can talk to your Coordinator.

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POLICIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

A policy is a rule that staff have to follow when they work at ABC Home Care. All of the
rules are in their employee handbook. You can ask the office if you would like see this
book. Some of the rules are about how staff should treat you and your family.

Employment
ABC Home Care fully employs all of our staff. We take care of all Payroll, Taxes,
Social Security deductions, Workers Compensation and Employment Insurance. A
Caregiver should never discuss their wages or details of any other personal
matters with you.

No Gift Policy
Gift(s) of any kind, monetary or otherwise from a client, family member or any
individual who may offer the gift as a result of being employed with ABC. Any and
all gifts received from a client or family member of a client by an employee will
immediately be returned to ABC Home Care office.

No Key Policy
Employees should never hold a key to your home or any of your belongings
without the client and caregiver obtaining approval from ABC Home Care office. A
Care Supervisor will request a Key Issued Form for the client, caregiver,
Supervisor and a family member (whenever possible) to sign. This form places a
great responsibility and accountability on the caregiver. It also carries certain
security risks incurred by clients. Please discuss with your Care Manager or give
our office a call for any questions.

No Financial Transactions
For all parties protection, our caregivers are prohibited from handling any kind of
financial affairs for clients. This includes but is not limited to being issued a debit
or credit card, checks, banking transactions, financial planning or involvement.
Should your caregiver need to do shopping while you are not present and money
is necessary to be exchanged, we encourage you to purchase any number of
individual store cards that allow you to add funds to. It restricts spending to the
store, limits any confusion of where finances are spent and all but eliminates the
possibility of theft or fraudulent activity with a misplaced card. Please call our
offices if you have any questions.

Confidentiality of Information
Employees will NEVER give any personal information about YOU, your family or
any of ABC Home Care clients, including your personal information, address
and/or phone number(s) to anyone outside of ABC Home Care.

Employees will NEVER give THEIR OWN personal information, including their
address and/or phone number to any client or family member. When asked, our
staff will refer you to our main office. If you should ever need to get a hold of the

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Caregiver that provides your care, give us a call at the office and well ensure you
can connect with them.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
1. Caregiver will call 911 (or Hospice if applicable)
2. The area will be secured
3. Caregiver will call ABC Home Care
4. ABC Home Care will call the family with status and disposition of the emergency
5. Licensed personnel, such as Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN, LVN) working as a
Caregiver capacity may fulfill the dictates of their license to perform CPR, etc.;
however, they do so under the authority of their license and not under the
authority of ABC Home Care.

DNR NOTE: DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) Orders are generally required by law to be
prominently displayed on the door or foot of the bed of the DNR recipient. The DNR
must be the original and signed by the family physician. The DNR is brought to the
attention of Paramedics and hospice personnel immediately upon their arrival. If its a
copy or not signed by the family physician, medical professionals often wont honor it
because of potential legal liability issues.

ELDER ABUSE AND MISTREATMENT

Rules are in place to help us have a safe environment and provide a safe service. The
manner in which you are treated by all staff is of top importance to us and your rights and
safety are supported at all times. As a registered In Home Care Agency, we are bound
by law as Mandated Reporters to report to the State anytime there is suspected Elder
Abuse.

What does Elder Abuse mean?

Elder Abuse means many different things. It is a situation in which someone who has
more power hurts someone with less power.

Verbal abuse is saying mean or cruel things to you.

Physical abuse is when someone hurts your body.

Emotional abuse is hurting your feelings on purpose. It can also be scaring you
or trying to make you feel bad about yourself.

Sexual abuse includes touching you or looking at you in a sexual way when you
do not want that. Sexual abuse can also be talking to you about sex when you do
not want to.

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Neglect is not giving you the things that you need, like food and clothes. It can
also be not taking you to the doctor when you need to go.

Taking advantage (exploiting) is telling you to do something that is against the

law or bad for you, or using undue influence to manipulate your actions to
benefit themselves. It can be taking your money or belongings/things.
Any kind of abuse is wrong. ABC Home Care will not tolerate a staff member to
abuse you ever! ABC Home Care staff must follow a set of rules about abuse.
Abuse is a crime. Deciding if an action is abuse is not always easy. All
accusations and reports of abuse will be looked at very seriously and in depth.

Stop Abuse before it happens:

ABC Home Care will:
Teach you how to be safe by teaching you about abuse;
Assist you to make your own decisions;
Teach staff the rules and laws about abuse;
Encourage social activities;
Teach staff how to recognize abuse;
Conduct background checks on all staff;
Encourage clients and staff to continue learning more about safety.

IF We Learn or Suspect that Abuse is Happening:

Staff usually learn that there is abuse when:
They see any form of abuse; in which case, they will call 911 immediately.
They see bruises or marks;
Someone tells them;
You tell them.

As an In Home Care Agency registered with the State, we are bound by law as
Mandated Reporters to report to the State anytime there is suspected Elder
Abuse.

Staff must stop the abuse if they see it happen while they are present. Staff must
make sure you are safe - they are here to help you. Then they must tell your
guardian. If your guardian is the person who abused you, staff will protect you
from that person until authorities arrive. Remember, if you tell a staff person that
you are being abused, the ABC Home Care staff person is there to help you.

You might need to go to the doctor or hospital. You can ask a staff member to go
with you. The doctor will explain what is going to be done. You can ask questions.
ABC Home Care has rules that the people who assist you must follow.

CONFIDENTIALITY

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What is confidentiality?
ABC Home Care knows that your life is private. Employees at ABC have to know some
things about you to give you good services. ABC has a policy that states that staff must
be very careful about the things that we know about you or that you tell us, and to keep
all your information private. In a nutshell, our staff cannot tell other people about things
that you do or say unless it is okay with you.

Confidentiality is about:
things that are written in your file, and
things that you tell staff, and
things you say at meetings/appointments that staff attend with you.

Client Files
ABC Home Care has to write things down about you and what you want to do and what
you do at ABC Home Care. This is in your file. It has things like:

Your name, address and phone number;

Addresses and phone numbers of people important in your life, emergency
contact names and numbers;
The service you are getting from ABC Home Care;
Copy of your Care Plan;
Notes about things that happen to you or that you do when you are with ABC
Home Care.

Your files are kept in a safe place. ABC Home Care has a rule that only staff that need to
see your file can look at it.

If you want to know what is in your file, just call the office and ask.

MAKING A COMPLAINT OR COMPLIMENT

What To Do If You Are Not Happy with ABC Home Care

If you feel that the staff at ABC Home Care are giving you bad service or are not being
fair, please tell someone and register a complaint.

If the Caregiver that provides service to you does not listen to you or you cannot get
along with them, please call and talk to your Care Coordinator about them. The Care
Coordinator or Office Manager will try to help you work things out. If that does not fix
your problem, you can talk to the CEO.

Also if there is anything about ABC Home Care, our staff members, or service we
provide displeases you, please call us immediately. We want to hear about it to correct
the issue and improve the service.

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After you communicate there is a problem, the following things will happen.

The person you asked for help will try to find out the best way to help you. She
may want to talk with you. If your complaint is about another person, she may
want to talk with that person too.
If the staff person you asked to help you cannot fix the problem, she will ask
her supervisor for help.
Sometimes you might need more people to help to fix the complaint.

As soon as the people you asked for help figure out what to do, they will let you know. If
you are not happy with the help you get, call our offices and ask for help outside of the
person thats already tried to help.

NOTES | QUESTIONS | COMMENTS

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