ComForCare Service Care

Hospital Sitters & Companionship

Objectives• Company Overview With Hospital Sitter Service• What is a Hospital Sitter and why are they used?• Ability/ Quality• Annual Statistics• Our CNA, HHA

• We offer services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays. We can provide same-day service, also provide support to hospitals and care facilities, including hospice support, facilities staffing, hospital sitters and more.

• ComForCare is one of the nation’s leading home care companies operating over 200 territories. Provider of non-medical home care services since 1996.

ComForCare Service Care

Company Overview With Hospital Sitter Service

Round the Clock AvailabilityEmotional Support and Companionship

 Ensuring Safety and ComfortDischarge-Transition of Care

When a loved one is in the hospital you want to be there with them, but that isn't always

possible. If you live far away, work full time, or have other family to care for, it may be difficult for you to get to the hospital. Let ComForCare help by providing caregivers to

attend to your loved one.

Round the Clock Availability

Our experienced caregivers are available 24 hours a day. Whether you just want someone to sit with your loved one while you take a much needed break to rest and refresh or you need someone to stay with your loved one for the full extent of their hospital stay, our flexible scheduling means we can provide the care you need when you need it. We will work with you to provide just the right amount of assistance so that your loved one never has to be alone.

Emotional Support and Companionship

Having an experienced caregiver nearby can help to ease some of the fears that hospital patients typically have regarding illnesses and injuries. Caregivers can answer questions about conditions and help patients understand what life may be like following discharge. While caregivers will defer to doctors regarding specific case details, caregivers can provide emotional support and knowledge that may be comforting. Caregivers will also read or play games with patients to help relieve boredom and anxiety.

Ensuring Safety and Comfort Caregivers are there to supervise when nurses and medical staff aren’t, so

using hospital sitter services can help your loved one to stay safer and more comfortable. ComForCare caregivers are happy to help make adjustments to hospital beds and tables, open or close blinds, assist with eating or drinking, and any other tasks that may make patients more comfortable.

If patients need clothing, personal items, or supplies, caregivers can take a

trip to gather the desired items. If any changes in a patient’s condition occur, ComForCare caregivers are there to alert hospital staff or family members.

Discharge-Transition of Care If the hospital discharges your loved one with little notice, you live out of

town, or work responsibilities prevent you from taking them home yourself, take advantage of ComForCare's Transition of Care Packages. Our caregivers will not only take your loved one home, they will help them to get acclimated to the new daily routines that may be needed following a condition diagnosis or injury.

Caregivers will help organize the home to best accommodate medical equipment and to ease mobility for your loved one. Caregivers will also assist your loved one with all of their housekeeping and grooming needs as they adjust to the transition from hospital to home.

What Is a Hospital Sitter? Hospital sitters are under the direction of the patient

registered nurse. In the event of an urgent patient need, a fall or a medical emergency, the sitter will be there to immediately summon the nurse in charge.

Other Ways Hospital Sitters Can Help

Secure / Human Keep a journal

Contact

Other Ways Hospital Sitters Can Help

While safety is critically important, hospital sitters do more than help prevent falls and alert nurses to medical emergencies. Knowing another person is in the room watching over them - especially if it's someone familiar like a regular caregiver - makes patients feel more secure and makes a hospital room more human.

Other Ways Hospital Sitters Can Help

One of the most helpful tasks that hospital sitters can do is to keep a journal. Sitters can record every doctor visit and outcome that occurs during their shift, as well as describe any procedures that took place and the expected and actual outcomes and observations of the patient.

Other Ways Hospital Sitters Can Help

Sitters can also maintain emergency contact information for the patient's family, and essential legal documents - including a copies of the patient's advanced directives, in case a relative is unable to be contacted for a critical decision. Hospital sitters provide peace of mind for the patient's family. Their vigilance ensures safety as well as companionship that reduces the patient's boredom and depression. Hospital sitters also enable the patient's family to go home and rest, knowing their loved one will never be alone.

Ability/ Quality Some hospitals use volunteers or paid sitters (also called patient attendants or companions) – who are

not trained as CNA or HHA to stay with patients who are at high risk for falls as a fall prevention strategy… Workers have argued that, because the majority of the assistive personal lack professional nurse education they cannot replace nurses in preventing inpatient falls.

Statistics• An estimated 99% of US hospitals use sitters even

though the costs have escalated over the past decade.• 56% psychiatric crisis and 44% fall risk• 55% ED and 45% in patient• Median length of sitter use 55.5hrs• Sitters took up 4.41 full time position/week• Equivalent to $585/week (13/hr)• Increase in sitters = decrease in falls• Lower sitter = higher restraint use

Statistics

Event Type Falls Without Harm (% Of Event Type)

Falls With Harm (% Of Event Type)

Total By Falls Event Type

Falls without sitter present

Unassisted Assisted

52,340 (96.99)

47,853 (96.78)4,487 (99.20)

1,626 (3.01)

1,590 (3.22)36 (0.80)

53,966

49,4434,523

Falls without sitter present

Unassisted Assisted

312 (96.59)

258 (95.91)54 (100.00)

11 (3.41)

11 (4.09)0 (0.00)

323

26954

Total 52,652 (96.98) 1,637 (3.02) 54,289

Falls Reported to the Patient Safety Authority, 2012-2013

Our CNA, HHA

Hiring ProcessTraining and Insurance

Client Matching

Hiring Process Our 10-step hiring process is one of the most thorough in the home care industry. To ensure we

hire only the most reliable and trusted caregivers, each applicant must:

• Pass our caregiver skill set evaluation• Pass our drug, ethics, attitude, responsibility and sexual behavior evaluations• Participate in personal interviews• Have previous employment and personal references verified• Have professional licensing verified• Be checked against state and federal sex offender registries• Pass criminal background and state driving record checks• Participate in a full skills orientation• Demonstrate understanding of OSHA Universal Precautions, including proof of negative TB test• Pass employment verification

Training and InsuranceClients can enjoy peace of mind knowing that all ComForCare caregivers are:

• Experienced and highly trained • Continuously trained to ensure the most cutting edge care techniques are used• Meticulously screened and tested• Bonded and insured• Covered by general liability, professional liability and workers' compensation insurance• Bound by the Client Bill of Rights• Directed by the client's personalized care plan

Caregiver and Client Matching To help develop strong, trusting relationships between clients and

caregivers, we carefully match clients with caregivers whose interests, life experiences and personalities complement their own. Before we ever select caregivers, we meet with clients and take note of personality traits and speak with them about experiences to help us select the most compatible caregiver.

As part of our quality assurance, our nurse will oversee and evaluate the caregiver and care recipient to ensure the best possible situation. If clients wish to make changes at any time, our professionals are always available to accommodate requests and answer questions.

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