Preventative General Skin Care – We focus on maintaining healthy skin by providing care for unbroken skin and addressing periods when chronic skin conditions are inactive. This includes the application of non-medicated lotions and solutions or those that do not require a physician’s prescription, promoting overall skin health and comfort.

We support clients with safe and comfortable movement, helping them maintain mobility and independence in their daily activities.

Our home services workers provide bathing assistance tailored to the client’s needs, including bed baths for those unable to use a tub or shower. To ensure safety and comfort, we adhere to the following standards:

• Home services workers are trained in the specific methods required for performing bed baths.
• The client or their representative actively participates in or directs the bathing process, offering feedback throughout.
• Each worker’s competency in performing bed baths is evaluated by the agency to maintain the highest level of care.
  This approach ensures dignity, hygiene, and client satisfaction.

We provide support to clients with dressing, ensuring comfort and ease. This includes help with putting on everyday clothing as well as assisting with the application of non-prescription support stockings to promote circulation and overall well-being.

We provide feeding assistance to clients who are able to independently swallow and maintain an upright position. Our caregivers offer support as needed to ensure a comfortable and safe eating experience.

We assist clients with maintaining the appearance of their hair, offering support with tasks such as shampooing with non-medicated or over-the-counter shampoo, drying, combing, and styling their hair to ensure they feel clean and confident.

We provide assistance with mouth care, which includes basic oral hygiene, denture care, and oral suctioning when necessary, ensuring clients maintain good oral health and comfort.

We offer support with basic nail care, including soaking nails, gently pushing back cuticles without utensils, and filing nails. Please note, we do not perform nail trimming as part of our services.

We assist clients with positioning, ensuring they are comfortable and properly aligned in a bed, wheelchair, or other furniture. This service is provided when the client can communicate, either verbally, non-verbally, or through a representative, when a change in position is needed. Positioning is done without the need for skilled skin care, as described earlier, and focuses on maintaining comfort and proper posture.

We assist clients with shaving using either an electric razor or a safety razor, ensuring a safe and comfortable experience while maintaining personal grooming.

We provide comprehensive support for toileting needs, including assistance with getting to and from the bathroom, use of bedpans, urinals, and commodes, as well as pericare (personal hygiene care). Additionally, we assist with changing clothing and pads related to incontinence care.

Home services workers can also empty or change external urine collection devices, such as catheter bags or suprapubic catheters, and provide assistance with emptying ostomy bags. This is done only when there is no need for skilled skin care or nurse observation and reporting.

We provide support with transfers when the client has sufficient balance and strength to stand and pivot, and is able to participate in the transfer process. Adaptive and safety equipment may be used, provided the client is fully trained in using the equipment and can guide the transfer step by step.

Examples of adaptive equipment may include wheelchairs, tub seats, and grab bars. Gait belts can be used as a safety device for the home services worker, provided they are properly trained in their use. A home services worker shall not assist with transfers when the client is unable to assist with the transfer. If mechanical or electrical transfer devices are used, the following conditions must be met:

• The worker must be trained by the licensed agency in the use of the device.
• The client or their representative must be able to direct the transfer process step by step.
• The agency must evaluate the worker’s competency in using the specific transfer device available at the client’s home

We provide medication reminders when medications have been pre-selected by the client, a family member, nurse, or pharmacist, and stored in containers other than prescription bottles, such as medication minders. These containers will be clearly labeled with the day and time of the dosage.

Medication reminder services include:

• Inquiring whether medications have been taken.
• Verbally prompting the client to take medications.
• Handing the appropriately labeled medication minder container to the client.
• Opening the medication minder container for the client if they are physically unable to do so.
• These limitations apply to both prescription and over-the-counter medications. The home services worker shall immediately report to the supervisor any irregularities noted in the pre- selected medications, such as medications taken too often or not often enough, or not at the
  correct time as identified in the written instructions.