Home health workers among essential employees risking COVID-19 exposure every day
AMBLER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Nurses who work 24/7 inside people's homes, along with home health workers, are among those essential employees risking coronavirus exposure every day. But there are many people whose lives depend on the care they provide.
"It's scary, we don't want our individuals to get sick, and we don't want our staff to get sick," said Jenny Doyle, a nurse manager with KenCrest.
Doyle is part of the nursing staff taking care of some of the community's most vulnerable.
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"They rely on the nursing staff 100 percent, without them, they would be probably in the hospital," said Doyle.
The people living in this home are what Doyle calls, medically fragile.
"They have trach tube feeding, they're immobile, they require 24/7 nursing," said Doyle.
The nurses are making sure they wipe down the door handles outside and inside the home, and clean the house a lot more. It's all part of KenCrest's action plan to stay safe while taking care of people with disabilities.
"We need this kind of support, so we need these folks to come in, and we need to do everything we can to keep them working," said Marian Baldini, the president and CEO of KenCrest.
Music therapists aren't making home visits during this time, but Doyle said she's still trying to bring music to the home with squeaky toys and maracas.
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The community chimed in with music too, by banging pots and pans in unity of staying home together.
"It really felt good that the neighborhood included us in their solidarity movement, and it kind of brought us together," said Doyle.
The healthcare workers said they are running low on gloves, medical masks, gowns and sanitizing products, but so far they are making do with what they have.
