Family & Nursing Care and COVID-19

In-Home Support for Seniors During COVID-19

Last updated: 11/2/21

Older adults are extremely susceptible to severe illness from COVID-19. The CDC currently recommends that older adults take steps to ensure they are protecting themselves from getting and spreading COVID-19 when they interact with others. This includes being fully vaccinated for COVID-19, including a booster dose. In-home Caregivers are serving as a vital link to keep seniors safe and cared for.

In February 2020, Family & Nursing Care assembled a COVID-19 Task Force that continues to meet as needed to review current information, make adjustments to our procedures as necessary, and manage our response to this crisis.

The safety and well-being of our Clients and families, our staff, and Caregivers are our top priorities. To that end:

We are encouraging all Caregivers to get the COVID-19 vaccine and applicable booster doses. The vast majority of working Caregivers are fully vaccinated.
We are not referring Caregivers who test positive for COVID-19 until they have tested negative or we receive a health clearance from their health care professional.
We are not referring Caregivers who have a known exposure to COVID-19 until they have tested negative for COVID-19 at least three days after the exposure.
We are not referring unvaccinated Caregivers who are known to have traveled outside the region via public transportation (example: planes, trains, buses, etc.) until they have received a negative test after isolating for 3 days or have remained symptom free for 10 days after their return.
Any Caregiver who has worked with a client who has tested positive for COVID-19 will not be referred for work with other clients until the Caregiver tests negative for COVID-19 at least three days from last exposure.
Caregivers are expected to follow CDC guidelines and use proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Our COVID-19 testing coordination team alerts Caregivers as to how to get tested for COVID-19 and how often.

Other Measures We are Taking:

Our office team has begun a phased approach to returning to work in the office, including following strict COVID-19 safety guidelines. Fortunately, over the past few years FNC invested in the technology to make remote work possible.
Home and Senior Living Community visits by our Client Services Team were limited to absolute necessity, and have been resuming while ensuring proper COVID-19 safety procedures. Our staff is fully available for phone calls and video conferencing when needed.
We have been working closely with the Senior Living Communities in the area and provide updated information regarding each of the community’s unique protocols and COVID-19 testing procedures to our staff and to the Caregivers as needed.
We continue to reinforce to Caregivers to wash their hands properly, to stay home when they are sick, and follow the recommendations from the CDC whenever possible.
Our COVID-19 task force meets when needed to review any new information and recommendations from local and national health authorities. We stand ready to make any changes necessary at any moment.
Mass text messaging capability with Caregivers enables us to share information in real time.