Granny NANNIES and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Our Position

As a licensed nursing agency that primarily works with elderly customers with chronic illnesses, Granny NANNIES has always made the health and safety of the people we serve a top priority. While the situation with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to develop, Granny NANNIES is doing everything possible to keep our clients, care providers, and office staff safe while still delivering the best home health care possible. We’re closely monitoring the situation and following the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations to minimize the spread of the virus.

How We Can Help

In this uncertain time, the health and well-being of our loved ones are at the forefront of our minds. Whether they are living alone at home, or in a senior care facility… We have services that can help mitigate their risk of acquiring the virus.

If they are living at home, we can do several things to assist and minimize their risk… Caregivers can handle activities like grocery shopping, errands, trips to the pharmacy, etc. By doing these tasks for them and keeping them at home where they are the safest, we can minimize their exposure to other people and possibly contracting the virus.

With regards to those people living in senior care facilities… While these communities are doing their absolute best to avoid exposing their buildings to the virus, it’s a very challenging proposition when you consider the number of residents (hundreds in some cases) and the volume of workers coming and going every day (administrative staff, nursing personnel, housekeeping, dietary, maintenance, etc). If you have a family member that is currently in a facility, thought about bringing them home until the pandemic slows down, but wasn’t sure how you could manage their care, we can help. By bringing in one of our highly trained and vetted caregivers, we can handle the task of caring for your family member in your home, while you continue to attend to your typical daily responsibilities such as work, children, etc.

What Are We Doing to Protect Our Customers

Nursing regulations, Coronavirus or otherwise, dictate medical personnel use standard precautions to prevent disease transmission. These protocols have been in place for decades as we routinely work with a segment of the population that struggles with the disease, chronic illnesses, and have weakened immune responses (chemo patients, surgical recovery, etc).

Standard protocols include

• Regular hand-washing using soap and warm water for at least 30 seconds
• The use of latex gloves when applicable
• Patients should be wearing a surgical mask if they are known to be infected with an airborne contagion to prevent "misting" the area around them
• Caregivers should also be wearing surgical masks if they are
• Working with a patient that is known to have an airborne contagion to minimize the potential for ingesting bacteria or viruses
• The routine use of hand sanitizer when water-based hand washing is not an option (ie working in the field with a patient)
• Maintaining reasonable distances from any infected parties
• Care providers will remain at home and isolate when signs of serious illness appear, or after having been officially diagnosed with a contagion such as the Flu or COVID-19

Additional Coronavirus specific protocols that have been implemented

• Regular communication with the caregiving staff as related to updates regarding the Coronavirus (ie transmission prevention techniques, recognition of symptoms, etc)
• Caregivers that have had a known exposure to the Coronavirus will be suspended from visiting their current clients for at least 14 days and cannot resume visits until they’ve been cleared by their physician
• Caregivers that have traveled to any CDC designated COVID “hot-spot” foreign countries or U.S. states will not be allowed to return to their clients for at least 14 days and cannot resume visits until they’ve been cleared by their physician
• Caregivers that have worked in a senior care facility known to have had Coronavirus exposure will be suspended from their clients and cannot resume visits until they’ve been cleared by their physician.
• Caregivers that are reporting Coronavirus symptoms will be suspended from their current clients for at least 14 days and cannot resume visits until they’ve been cleared by their physician
• Care providers have been requested to routinely check their temperatures if they start to develop a fever before the onset of other symptoms
• Clients or members of their household who are exhibiting symptoms or have been officially diagnosed are highly encouraged to contact our office so that we can evaluate potential caregiver exposure
• Caregivers are expected to report to the office any clients or members of the client’s household that are exhibiting symptoms or have been officially diagnosed so we can evaluate potential caregiver exposure

Care Provider Testing

At this time, Granny NANNIES is not able to prophylactically test all of the caregiving staff. Guidelines set by our local health departments dictate that the patient must be symptomatic or have some other aggravating factor to qualify for Coronavirus testing. So at this time, it’s not an option for healthy, non-symptomatic caregivers to get tested. That being said, as mentioned above, any caregivers that have been exposed to COVID-19 or are exhibiting symptoms of the virus are being suspended from servicing their current clients for at least 14 days and are being referred to their physician for evaluation/testing before they can resume normal visits.

Summary

Granny Nannies is always operating in a state of "universal precautions", regardless of what is happening in the world, because of the type of patients we work with and how delicate their health can be. Protocols for COVID-19 are comparable to any other airborne infectious disease, such as the Flu. Proper hygiene and common-sense actions will go a long way to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the Flu, and any other communicable diseases. Whether you are an existing customer or new one seeking our home care services… You have our commitment that we will do whatever it takes to keep your loved ones safe. Please don’t hesitate to contact our office should you have any questions.