Policies for Home Care Staff

  • Per Medicaid policies the employee MAY perform the following tasks:

    • Help a client with bathing, care of mouth, skin and hair.
    • Help a client with toileting.
    • Assist client with transferring and ambulating.
    • Help clients with prescribed exercises when the client and aide have been taught by a health care professional.
    • Perform household services essential to the client’s health (e.g. washing the client’s clothing and bed linens).
    • Report to the agency RN changes in the client’s condition or family situation.
    • Assist with oral medications that are normally self administered.
    • Take vital signs.
    • Assist with meal preparation and feeding as necessary.
    • Provide only the care on the care plan or that the nurse has instructed them to do.
  • Per Medicaid policies the employee MAY NOT perform the following tasks

    • Transport the client and/or family members in either the employee’s, clients and/or family members car.
    • Heavy housekeeping or housekeeping for other family members.
    • Sell food or craft items.
    • Use the client’s credit or debit card for any reason.
    • Accept gifts, money or clothing, or food. (Aide’s should always provide his or her own food).
    • Discuss matters relating to a client’s Last Will and Testament with the client or anyone in the family.
    • Assist the client with financial matters such as paying bills or writing checks. If required, in the course of their duties, to make purchases for the client and the client provides them with cash for those purchases, they must obtain receipts to account for all the money spent.
    • Give out the client’s telephone number, or other personal information
    • Bring unauthorized individuals into the client’s home, including their spouse or children
    • Accept keys to the client’s home.
    • Cut fingernails or toenails or hair.
    • Give or dispense any medications including over the medications such as Tylenol.
    • Wound Care, range of motion exercises, bowel and bladder care, blood sugars, enemas, suppositories, or rectal temperatures without orders from a physician and instruction from an agency RN.
    • Tube feeding
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