Chicago home care during the pandemic ensures heightened safety and comfort.
While terms such as “social distancing,” “self-quarantining,” and “pandemic” have been part of our everyday vocabulary for nearly a year now, we at SYNERGY HomeCare of Chicago remain dedicated to helping seniors stay safe while receiving the high quality home care during the pandemic they need and deserve. Our commitment to this goal was strong before there was such a thing as COVID-19, and it’s grown even stronger as we’ve been weathering the storm together.
And even though the good news of a vaccine has given us all hope, at the same time, the prevalence of the virus continues to rise. To ensure Chicago seniors and their loved ones have peace of mind in these tumultuous times, we’re continuing to follow strict safety protocols, including:
- We provide infection control and prevention training for all of our staff.
- We require that all staff members (not just caregivers) continue to take specialized training about COVID-19 that provides in-depth details on this disease, how it spreads, and best practices for minimizing the risk of infection and spread.
- We continually monitor and follow all safety guidelines and requirements from the CDC, IDPH and local government.
- We are certified as an essential healthcare provider, which allows us to continue with care operations during curfews and other restrictions, as well as access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves.
- We update our clients on a routine basis regarding our COVID-19 processes and procedures through hard copy, email and verbal communications.
- Our caregivers receive ongoing reinforcements and reminders of our COVID-19 processes and procedures.
- As frontline workers, COVID-19 vaccination is now available to our care staff, and vaccinations are well underway for the safety of both our clients and employees.
Each day, our caregivers adhere to the following routine:
- Daily health checks for symptoms prior to visiting a client’s home:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Wearing a mask when inside the home.
- Minimizing use of public transportation, ride-share or taxis.
- Practicing self-distancing when in public places.
- Carrying and using hand sanitizer throughout the day.
- No touching of one’s face unless immediately after washing one’s hands thoroughly.
- In the client’s home:
- Utilizing PPE as needed for specific client needs
- Washing hands thoroughly upon arrival and continually throughout a shift
- Disinfecting all common touch areas (doorknobs, faucet handles, kitchen appliance handles, etc.)
- Disinfecting all flat common surfaces including kitchen counters, bathroom sinks, tables, etc.
- Practicing social distancing even with the client when possible
If any symptoms are present, a caregiver will pause working and follow the CDC/IDPH guidelines for self-isolation or quarantine as appropriate. This includes being tested immediately and remaining quarantined until results come back. We also inventory who the caregiver has been in contact with and self-isolate or quarantine and monitor as needed (per CDC/IDPH) guidelines). We follow the CDC/IDPH guidelines for reintroducing a caregiver back into the work rotation as follows:
- If not diagnosed with COVID-19:
- The caregiver will remain out of work until he/she has gone three days with no symptoms
- If diagnosed with COVID-19:
- The caregiver will remain out of work until he/she has gone three days with no fever, respiratory symptoms have improved (e.g. cough, shortness of breath) and it has been ten days since symptoms first appeared
Although we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, we’re not letting our guard down! Our top priority will always be the utmost safety of our clients and caregivers.
If you have any questions or concerns about our protocol for providing home care during the pandemic, please call us at (773) 868-3183 any time. We’re here for you through this storm as well as any yet to come, as the dependable provider of home care services in Chicago and the surrounding areas.
