Hello,
This message is to update you related to the evolving situation with the Coronavirus Pandemic and how your child's HCN care may be affected.
HOME CARE NURSING UPDATES
1) There is a critical supply shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the world, country, state of Minnesota and at PHS.
PPE must be used, according to CDC and MDH guidelines, when our HCN is giving care to a patient with a communicable illness.
Influenza and Coronavirus are two examples of communicable illnesses. Influenza requires only the use of a mask (not N95), gown and gloves whereas Coronavirus requires our HCN to wear a face shield, N95 mask, gown, and gloves anytime they are within 6-10 feet of the patient and when providing direct patient care. While the face shield may be disinfected and reused, the N95 mask, gown and gloves are not able to be reused and need to be changed at varying times throughout a shift.
2) The critical supply shortage is likely to result in a limited capacity for PHS to provide HCN service if the HCN patient or any person in the household are diagnosed with a communicable illness, such as Influenza or Coronavirus.
3) PHS must be notified immediately of any communicable illness with the HCN patient or other person in the household experiencing symptoms or a confirmed diagnosis of a communicable illness.
Upon notification, PHS HCN will assess critical supplies and will work with you to develop a plan for ongoing care with significantly diminished hours of service.
Our ability to provide
any
hours of HCN staffing will be dependent upon:
- Access to critical supplies the HCN must utilize during the provision of care.
- Access to a nurse trained to care for your child, who does not have any symptoms of illness or exposure to a person who has a confirmed communicable illness.
Once the patient or household member tests negative for the diagnosed communicable illness, the HCN staffing will then only be dependent upon our access to a nurse trained to care for your child, who does not have any symptoms of illness or exposure to a person who has a confirmed communicable illness.
4) While this information is standard medical practice for the health and safety of all people, we have communicated this information with your child’s primary care physician and specialists.
They are aware of the critical supply shortage and that HCN services for your child will be affected greatly if they or a household member experiences a communicable illness during this particular time.
In addition to receiving communication from HCN scheduling, we will provide updates on the website as the ability to obtain critical supply items or access HCN nurses who are screened to safely work in HCN changes.
COMPANY-WIDE UPDATES
Pediatric Home Service is taking company-wide steps to reduce the spread of this outbreak while putting the safety of patients, families, and our employees first. We want to share some changes with you that are being implemented currently. Click the topics below to get more information:
