Case Studies on Managing Staff Amid Pandemic

These case studies are REAL PEOPLE, their situation and how they are choosing to manage their staff.

• Client #1: Adult living alone with complex medical needs at high-risk living alone, assessed low for ADLS, high for IADLs.
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Client #1 Profile: Adult living alone with complex medical needs is at high-risk with multiple sclerosis on immunosuppressant therapies, a history of infection and respiratory problems, a history of increasing muscular problems when bed-bound and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Client would have no access to hospitals to receive treatment if client were to become ill with COVID-19 because cleaning chemicals would cause respiratory distress, allergic reaction and likely death. Client is assessed low for ADLs, high for IADLS.

One staff member works for a school during the day. She also had been to Target. In both instances, someone was sick and coughing. We gave her an excused absence and asked her to quarantine herself. She agreed she would not be going anywhere. Because of her job, she uses plastic gloves. She also knows to clean the doorknobs of the client’s home when she arrives. She has watched a hand washing video and has agreed to do that as first priority when she enters the client’s home. The last time she had an exposure was 03/13/2020. Her school district closed 03/16/2020, so she can return to work on 04/04/2020 *IF* she doesn't have any symptoms.

One staff member works at a small dentist desk job and doesn't come into contact with patients. She has been educated on the protocols and utilizes them both at work, at home and in the client’s home. She has stopped going out as she also cares for another person who is in a high-risk class. She continues to serve client uninterrupted. She may continue to work as long as she does not have symptoms.

One staff member works only as a caregiver for client, one other disabled person and her grandchildren. She has stopped serving the children as they are at home with their mother with the school closings. She has been educated on the protocols and utilizes them both at work, at home and in client’s home. She has stopped going out. She continues to serve client uninterrupted and is taking on an additional shift.

Client activated one staff member who stopped working last winter because she was unable to reconcile wanting to use a conditioner on her hair that was making the client sick, contacted me to see if there were any errands she could run for me. She will be resuming her duties that are outside of clien'ts home. (Client built this level of "backup" service into their CDCS plan to prioritize staff members that client can work with in-person.)