outside caregivers, visiting nurses etc considering coronavirus

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Oh, wow, V! I hate to see things like this.

I've been thinking how hard it would be if my DH were still here. His aide came 2x a week for a total of 12 hours. Not much, but it was a God-send. She was an angel. But - she was also a single mom with 3 kids. 2 of them pre-schoolers. I don't know what we would do.

I wish I could do more, but I pray for all you PALS and CALS out there with this pandemic.
 
I ended up canceling my visiting nurse indefinitely (she came monthly for a non urgent issue) and downsizing to just one PCA. But with my husband here all day it's working fine.
 
My husband and I cancelled our one and only aide as well. She works weekends at a nursing home and just felt her help isn't worth the risk. Trying to get by with only our son and our daughter who does not reside with us. Others who would come help are not coming now due to Ohio's stay at home order.
 
I ended up canceling the 3rd caregiver. She had too many other part time caregiving jobs including two where she was part of a large team. It’s just too much risk. I am comfortable with my decision as are my two other caregivers.

When one has outside people coming into the home, it’s no longer a closed system. One has to weigh the risks vs benefits. With caregivers and other personnel entering the home, it’s important to know how many other clients they have, and how open their own home systems are.

As the saying goes with STDs, when you sleep with one person, you sleep with all their other partners. 😉
 
Yes! It’s important to limit the people we are interacting with to those who have limited their own social interactions. One of my agencies agreed to not allow either of my two aides to work in congregate settings. One of the aides had applied to work at dominos pizza and the agency told her she couldn’t work with me if she took that job. So she didn’t at least for now. That agency has recently provided masks to the aides and they are to use them when they visit (of course) and whenever they are out of their own homes or cars.
 
Karen that is exactly it and what social distancing is all about! Don't sleep with so many people! ;)
 
This could turn into a very bad problem. My housecleaning service called and planned to come yesterday. I told them we were under stay at home and she said her girls were going to other places. I know most of her clients are quite old and some of them have health conditions.

Tillie........I don't sleep around........but I'm thinking if I could I might 😅
 
I weighed the issues and allowed the contractors to start on my bathroom remodel to make it accessible for me. I was awarded the remodel and ramp access through a state program, and if I gave up my slot, I would go to the end of the line. With the covid issues mucking up everything, I was concerned the money would be reallocated. I closed the door to my room, and my wife scrubbed when they left. I didnt hear anyone coughing...
 
Kim- my house cleaning service polled their customers asking if we wanted to continue and if we would accept a substitute cleaner if necessary. I actually said yes to both although I don’t think I would say the same today! Then they announced they were laying all the cleaners off and no services would be provided indefinitely. I’m surviving.
Mary
 
I'm so glad I trained Ace to use a pee pad. I'm sure he misses the dog park.....at least he never missed the pad 😅
 
My house cleaner has been with us for over 30 years. She is like family. We gave her the option of not coming and the promise that we'd continue to pay her until this was past... or of coming, provided that she felt she'd been taking the necessary precautions to stay safe (hence keeping us safe). She said she was being as careful as she could possibly be and would like to work if we were okay with that. Once here, we talked and I'm beyond comfortable with the steps she is taking to keep us (and her) safe.

I asked who she was still working with and there are two other homes. One is my mother-in-law who is 90 years old, bedridden and is being cared for by my brother-in-law. The other is an elderly lady that has no more family around. As she left for the day, I reminded her to let us know if there was any change of mind. We only see her every other week.

I'm having groceries delivered. The difficulty is that I often don't get everything I ask for. But I'm a pretty good and creative cook... so I can fend well for myself with what I still have on hand. I'm supporting a local sub shop... for two reasons. First, I feel safe entering their establishment. They have moved all tables out have have a large open area to walk into. They offer curbside service, but I prefer to walk inside. I hand them cash money and leave all change as a tip. I pick up the back and put it in my car. I then Purell my hands before taking off my N95 mask (it was a gift from my son who bought over $1,000 worth of them... because he could get them early into this mess... and then made most of them available to local hospitals when they could no longer easily find them).

So, while we are not 100% isolated, I believe we are being socially and personally responsible. Like all of us, we too will be glad when all of this has passed. Until then, we'll stay vigilant as we seek our own balance of safety amidst minimized participation directly with society. We wish you all, "Be well and be safe!"

My best...

Jim
 
I've had the same cleaning service since 2000. The problem is the owner used to do all the cleaning herself with her daughter. As she got older, she hired three other workers and expanded her business. I could tell they were still cleaning houses and one is very young (20) and not the brightest bulb on the tree. I decided to skip this time and she will call me next time. I've always had it done every other week but, recently, I changed to once every three weeks and that works OK.
 
We also had a wonderful group of ladies helping us clean the last few years. I know they clean lots of houses so we have furloughed them, with pay, until this is over. They depend on their clients, so i will help them out as long as I can, as they have helped me. We always cleaned our home ourselves before my pals got sick so I have a good routine. I had been ordering groceries online, now just have to plan far in advance as everyone else is doing it too and the slots are always taken a week out. This illness has given us lots of practice adjusting, we can turn on a dime now it seems. I pray the reduction in hospitalizations continues and the steps we all took continue to lower the projections. The field hospital they planned here has been canceled for lack of need. Great news.
 
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It’s nice to hear how others are handling things. Seems like everyone has a slightly different situation and a good plan. I just wanted to mention something that might help your cleaners or aides

In my State the new/covid19 unemployment insurance covers hourly workers who have lost income. It’s supposed to make up the difference each week depending on their work schedule. I think this benefit is not widely known around here. I had to tell my aides about it. Each of them has seen their hours cut in half due to clients canceling their visits.
I hope this is the same in your State.
 
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