A Challenge for Home Health Agencies: Pertussis, It’s Not Just for Children Anymore
When I was a young mother with four children, I kept logs and target dates to make sure everyone got their immunizations on time. Frankly, I was often so busy, someone invariably slipped through the cracks. Once my children were grown and neatly packed off to college with the last of their shots in place, thoughts of immunization slipped right from my mind. So it came as a bit of a surprise, even to me, that according to a recent Medscape article, California is expecting one of the worst epidemics of Pertussis in years and is targeting, get this, not only un-immunized children, but their parents!
So how did we get from childhood immunizations to adult inoculations? Research is showing that parents and other adults are prime carriers of the disease and they are giving it to the children. While counter intuitive to everything I’ve ever said about kids being little “germ incubators,” it turns out adults often might be the worst offenders.
So what does this have to do with home health? Even though the rest of the country is not experiencing the epidemic, the CDC expects to see incidents of Pertussis rise in other parts of the country starting this fall. For you and your staff, it probably means a Pertussis booster is in order so we don’t take the disease to our clients, patients or their families. It also makes it more imperative than ever that we follow all communicable diseases among our staff and clients/patients.
The incubation period for Pertussis is seven to ten days. It starts with a mild fever, runny nose and sneezing. One to two weeks later, a slight cough develops into uncontrolled coughing fits. While transmission of Pertussis occurs during the fever, runny nose and sneezing period, it is also spread through respiratory droplets coughed into the air. But there are plenty of other diseases out there we should be aware of.
The most effective way to track communicable diseases is to mimic what I did with my kids and their shots: keep a Communicable Disease Log. This will allow you to report illness among staff, clients, or patients, along with symptoms and onset dates. If you identify a trend, it must be reported to your local health department. Additionally, it may be time to remind all home health, caregiving, and office staff that if they are sick, they should not come to work.
The bottom line is if someone thinks they are coming down with a cold, it could be Pertussis and they should STAY HOME. Now is the time to prepare your agency and staff for an impending epidemic.
Don’t have a log? You can download my Communicable Disease Log here.
Download Infection Control Log (Word Doc 26KB)
Category: Education & Training, Ginny's Blog
In-home healthcare also is able to to save income by aiding to keep patients away from emergency rooms and hospitals. Not to mention the emotional comfort it provides.