Home Care Safety Risks

Solving This Problem is Personal to Us

The job functions of Home-Based Health Care Professionals involve inherent risk, like working alone in unsafe conditions and high risk environments, dangerous neighborhoods, aggressive patients. Plus, after hours in-home visits can be a major source of stress. That’s why KATANA Safety has designed a device that, with the mere flick of a finger, sets in motion a chain of events that prevents a bad situation from getting worse. And because we’ve designed it to travel anywhere, your team will be continually reminded, every time they pick up their phone, that you have their back, both on and off the clock.

Occupational Hazards in Home Healthcare

Costly Impact of Caregiver Turnover

Read More About OSHA’s Guidance on Healthcare Workplace Guidance

KATANA Safety Solution

KATANA SAFETY offers a comprehensive way to address the duty of care obligations and validate a home-based healthcare organization’s commitment to the safety and well-being of its people. With our easy-to-use solution, you can evolve from a company with thousands of unique risks to a proactive, pre-emptive and empathetic mitigator of risk. Not addressing the risks to these employees could be a ticking time-bomb for the industry-based workplace safety and OSHA compliance.

When you give your home-based care team members a quick trigger on their smartphone they breathe a little easier.  And with less stress, they perform better. They will know you care about them and are willing to make proactive investments in their well-being.

There have been other attempts to protect lone workers, but they fall short. Weapons aren’t viable for a number of reasons.  Extra devices can easily be forgotten.  Other devices require charging.  Other safety apps require you to unlock your phone.  Someone with malicious intent is not going to give you a moment to unlock your phone to launch an app before they strike.

Home Care Organizational Recommended Requirements

• OSHA recommends employers assess risks annually
• Allocate resources training, escorts, and technology
• Policies must encompass in-home visits safety procedures
• Implement measures to support staff in violent situations
• Assess risks of pets and clarify security process
• Emergency Preparedness communication plan (natural disaster, active shooter, pandemic, etc.)

Caregiver Safety Areas of Responsibilities:

• Workers must take a proactive role in their own personal safety
• Organization must train and provide workplace safety practices
• Patients must promote a safe in-home care environment

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• Home care workers experience more than double the national rate of workplace injuries for all industries
• Studies have shown that up to 61% of home care workers have experienced some form of workplace violence
• In the United States, home care workers are most susceptible to verbal abuse and aggression, threats, and sexual harassment
• Over a 3-year period in the United Kingdom, 1,544 assaults (including sexual assault, hostage situations, headbutting, biting, strangulation, and weapons use) against lone healthcare workers occurred
• In Australia, a survey of 300 physicians who make home visits was conducted using an electronic form that evaluated their experiences over a year & findings showed that nearly one in two physicians encountered aggression; verbal aggression was most common

Immediate Help With the Click of Button

The home-based Healthcare profession involves inherent vulnerabilities. Though unlikely, what happens if a team member is assaulted or injured on the clock? And what if you find out you could have done more to prevent it? Beyond that, what if others start asking if there’s more you could have done to prevent it?