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Below you will find the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Amazing Grace Homecare. The following SOPs are available and are in alphabetical order.

Activity Notes

Communicating with Family

COVID-19 Quarentine Protocol

Infection Control

Shift Completion

Activity Notes

Caregivers are required to document the tasks completed during the shift before clocking out. Most of the tasks will be on the ADLs, however, there are times when events cannot be described completely by checking off the activities on the list. It’s important to communicate with your co-workers and supervisors, so leave notes so everyone knows what is going on. Here are some tips to help you know when to leave a note.

  1. There is no activity on the list that fits the important detail you want everyone else to know.

  2. When there is an incident report requested of you, put the event that led to the incident report (Fall, skin tear, etc)

  3. Any time you notify a supervisor of a client symptom, complaint, concern, or request.

Leave a note in the communication book in the client’s house if desired by the family. Put a snapshot of the communication book into the messaging system in the client’s group. It’s not necessary to duplicate everything from the communication book into the app. The communication book helps with notes from shift to shift. The app holds notes that we send to insurance companies or notes that may need reviewed months from now. For example, the grocery list is in the communication book but is not required for the app.

Communicating with Family

Communication with family members is a vital part of our work. They count on us to inform them of what is happening with their loved one(s). We have a team of people who participate in the care of our clients, so keep this in mind when communicating with families. 

 

  1. Case managers make weekly calls to clients and/or families. Make sure ALL pertinent details are shared with the case managers and other caregivers in the house and flag important care issues to the Case Managers so that when they speak to families, they can be ready with answers to questions about how we handled anything that has come up.

  2. ​Issues that must be shared include, but are not limited to, changes in condition, appointments, new orders, and communication from Home Health, VA, doctors’ offices, and requests from other family members.

  3. The case managers will do the same for you by putting a weekly note into Tiger Connect about their conversations with the families. This will include feedback and advice about the ongoing plan of care. 

  4. Once a week, the Case Managers give reports to Administration for each client. This includes information from caregivers and families and deals with issues that affect the team and the company as a whole. 

  5. If you have any direct communication with family, you must share that communication with those in the client group, so all involved parties are aware of it. Communication outside of these channels is prohibited unless a written exception is provided by Administration. We ask family members to refrain from contacting you directly for questions that should be directed to Administration or scheduling. If a family member asks you something directly, have our phone numbers handy to give to them so they can be redirected to the appropriate person. 

  6. Communication with a client's family outside of the home setting is subject to review and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Remember, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble having conversations with family members who may or may not be authorized to make decisions, or even have access to information legally. A person does not have legal access to protected health information simply because they are a family member. Please don't allow yourself to accidentally violate HIPAA because you communicated without our protective systems to cover you. 

  7. Always make sure your interactions with families, clients, and each other are respectful and kind. Rudeness will not be tolerated at any level of the team. Understand that communicating by text can be easily misunderstood and family members can read negativity into your "tone" the same way anyone else could. That's yet another reason why you should communicate from the client's home only. It's too easy to misread a text and there is nothing to stop a family member from forwarding a text to someone else out of context.

Infection Control

Caregivers are required to implement strict infection control practices in order to protect clients, each other, and families from the risk of infection. Protecting yourself from infection is the best way to protect others. Infections can be transmitted by touch, droplets, and by air. All surfaces and all people may be a source of infection. You must observe these guidelines, whether you are at work or not, to prevent carrying infections to others:

  1. Wash your hands, first thing when you get to a client’s home. Use hot water and liquid soap, scrub around your nails, between the fingers, and include the back of your hands. Do this for at least 20 seconds, rinse well, and pat dry.

  2. Take your temperature every day approximately two hours after rising and report the temperature to your schedule group.

  3. A temperature of 99.0° F or below with no other symptoms indicates you can work using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as indicated or instructed by your supervisor.

  4. A temperature of 99.1° F to 99.3° F indicates that you must recheck your temperature after approximately 30 minutes. If you are still elevated past 99.3, you may not work. You must be fever free for 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing agents. If you are 99.1° F to 99.3° F you will be asked about other symptoms including but not limited to cough, sinus drainage, sore throat,  shortness of breath, severe headache, nausea, vomiting, elevated blood pressure, and low oxygen saturations, and diarrhea. At the nurse’s discretion, you may be able to work with a temperature below 99.3° F if all other symptoms are absent.

  5. Any symptom may be considered in determining the risk of exposure for clients and/or caregivers. The nurse’s decision is exclusive and final.

  6. You must use PPE as directed by the company nurse.

  7. If you feel unwell at a client's house, or discover you have a fever, stay 6 feet away from everyone in the house, wear your mask, disinfect anything you’ve touched, and notify your supervisor or scheduler that you require a replacement as soon as possible.

  8. You may or may not be advised that you need to see a doctor. We reserve the right to require testing or a physician’s permission to return to work.

Do not go to work sick! We must protect our clients for many reasons. Among those reasons are the health and safety of the client, as well as job security for the entire company. Our reputation is built on providing great care. Protecting clients from infection is a big part of that.

COVID-19 Quarantine Protocols

Protecting our clients and caregivers during the global COVID-19 pandemic is a critical focus for the company. The CDC has issued guidelines for self-quarantine.

  1. Quarantine for COVID-19 lasts for 14 days. The day of potential exposure counts as Day 1.

  2. Quarantine may be reduced if the person is potentially exposed to tests negative for COVID-19 and has no other symptoms of a communicable disease.

  3. An exposure that requires quarantine is defined as either direct or indirect exposure to a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19.

  4. You may not work if you have been exposed to, or are being tested for, COVID-19. You may return to work if you test negative and have no other symptoms of a communicable disease.

  5. The nurse must be notified as soon as possible of any testing or suspected exposure.

Shift Completion

We have a team of people who participate in the care of our clients, including the families, so be aware that there are many involved who are counting on the caregivers to be with the client during the expected time frame.

 

  1. Caregivers, Schedulers, Case Managers, Administration and Families all have constant access to the shifts scheduled.
     

  2. All parties, except Families, can see clock in and out times in real time. When timeclock entries do not match the schedule within 5 minutes, the team is alerted. If you are clocking in or out <5 minutes away from the shift as scheduled, either early or late, you must leave a shift note.
     

  3. You must attend your shift as scheduled. You may not leave a shift without permission and only a case manager may grant this permission. You may not leave simply because it appears that all tasks are completed. Instead, find something else to do. Enjoy visiting with the client; companionship is a vital part of what we do and is part of the expectation of all shift tasks.
     

  4. If a client is leaving the house during your shift, or you are dismissed by family, you must contact the case manager to inform them and document the permission in the shift note. You also must document the name of the case manager who authorized you to leave early.
     

  5. If you experience an emergency that requires you to leave the client’s shift, you must notify the case manager and scheduler so coverage can be secured for the client, as well as obtaining permission to leave. You must also leave a shift note.

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