Thomas Patitucci
Development Officer, USA
Title: Methods of Ensuing Worker Safety in the Provision of In-Home
Biography
Biography: Thomas Patitucci
Abstract
The point of service for the health care sector has become increasing home based. Funders and policy makers are purposefully driving services away from hospitals and clinics to the homes of the patients. This trend is particularly prevalent in the mental health field. As this direction expands, the risk posed to mental health practitioners providing these services have concomitantly increased both from the patients being treated and the environments many of persons with mental illness reside. As a result, a need for safety conscious worker force, comprehensive worker training and organizational safety strategies are extremely important in the process of managing the risk and provide quality care in home services. The presenter will describe that exposure to violence is a common place experience in many of the urban and suburban areas given the low socio-economic areas most of the patients reside. Discuss how exposure to the threat of violence and crime, is common place and that violence is prevalent both for practitioners and patient stand point. The presenter will describe that risk for practitioners is further exacerbated due to the fact; they face unstable and unpredictable patients and or roommates alone. Therefore, providers and healthcare leaders will need to have comprehensive strategies to manage the risk to practitioners providing in home mental health intervention. The presentation will include individual practitioner field based safety tips and a discussion of the overall needs for risk management strategies for healthcare leaders and what elements these may include.