Are you considering having a carer in your home to look after yourself or a loved one?
Home care nurses or carers travel to patients’ homes to treat people who were recently discharged from the hospital, who suffer from chronic conditions or who are frail and need help with their daily activities.
Sister Anne can provide trained and vetted carers to provide unobtrusive aid in your home environment.
Here are some things to consider when evaluating your alternatives:
Autonomous and Collaborative
Home care nurses generally work independently, but they serve as the eyes and the ears of the entire care team.
The world of home care should not be ‘Nurse do this’ but ‘Nurse, what do we do?’. The relationship with the holistic medical and nursing team is a very collaborative one. The carer is out there looking at the patient for the team and making a recommendation to the team in terms of what needs to be done for them. 
Required Skills
The goal of home health nursing is to teach the client and family to be able to manage their healthcare needs at home. We want to help them remain independent, achieve a level of wellness and stay out of acute care. To be able to perform in this role, a carer needs a solid background, with access to advice from a registered nurse and a doctor, if required.
Other skills supplied by Sister Anne include strong assessment and teaching skills and the creativity to adapt the home environment to the client’s needs. In a hospital setting, all sorts of supplies are available. In home health, that’s not always the case.
A Guest in your Home
Throughout their work day, our carers witness many different ways of living – different family and social relationships, different religions and food preferences, different standards of hygiene. In this type of environment, a judgmental attitude on the part of the carer would get in the way of effective patient care.
Every family has an established daily routine. It is the task of our carers to fit into that, whilst making any changes needed for the patients well-being.
Top Challenges
Home health nurses face many of the same safety concerns as other nurses, such as the potential for needle stick or musculoskeletal injuries. However, they also have their own unique set of concerns, ranging from the dangers of working in a high-crime neighbourhood to dog bites, traffic accidents and transport challenges. 
Another concern for home health nurses is infection control. Sister Anne’s infection control policies and procedures are experience based and the precautions that our carers take are for the clients wellbeing.
While on occasion, we can meet an uncooperative patient or family member, mostly our clients and their families welcome our staff. We have long experience in helping our carers fit into your daily life.
The Bottom Line
Home care nursing is a big, expansive role. It’s for nurses and carers who like independence and the freedom of getting out and networking with the community, working with patients and their families, and helping people in the comfort and dignity of their homes. It is important to select a service provider who understands these needs.
Please contact us for further information.