Advice for caregivers in working in Home and Community Based Settings (HCBS).

If you are a Prime Choice Home Care Solutions employee caring for a person with COVID-19 at home or in the community, ensure that you follow this advice to protect yourself and others.

As a Prime Choice employee, you need to learn what to do when a person you care for has symptoms of COVID-19 or when they have been diagnosed with the virus. This information also should be followed when caring for people who have tested positive but are not showing symptoms.

*Note: Older adults and people of any age with serious underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for developing more severe illness from COVID-19. People at higher risk of severe illness should call their doctor as soon as symptoms start.

Provide support

Help cover basic needs

Make sure the person who is sick drinks a lot of fluids and rests

• Help the person who is sick follow their doctor’s instructions for care and medicine.
  • For most people, symptoms last a few days, and people usually feel better after a week.
• See if over-the-counter medicines for fever help the person feel better.
• Make sure the person who is sick drinks a lot of fluids and rests.
• Help them with grocery shopping, filling prescriptions, and getting other items they may need. Consider having the items delivered through a delivery service, if possible.
• Take care of their pet(s), and limit contact between the person who is sick and their pet(s) when possible.

Watch for warning signs

• Have their doctor’s phone number on hand.
• Use CDC’s self-checker tool to help you make decisions about seeking appropriate medical care.
• Call their doctor if the person keeps getting sicker. For medical emergencies, call 911 and tell the dispatcher that the person has or might have COVID-19.

When to seek emergency medical attention

Look for emergency warning signs* for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

Call 911 or call ahead to your local emergency facility: Notify the operator that you are seeking care for someone who has or may have COVID-19.

Source: CDC