I am transitioning my mother to 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. My mother has dementia but is not a difficult person to care for. She loves her bed and sleeps usually from around 8pm until 1:00 the next day. The longest she is up is around 8 hours a day. She requires help for all activities of daily living. She eats very well and drinks her fluids with no problem. She is in a wheelchair and sleeps in a hospital bed. I have taken care of her myself. The caregivers I am using already care for her for shorter periods of time.
My question is regarding the definition of live-in care. The two caregivers I am hiring want to work shifts of 5 days on/5 days off. I have no other caregivers near my mother I can hire, unfortunately.
The definition of a live-in caregiver (U.S. Dept of Labor - my state follows this too): "A worker resides on the employer's premises for an extended period of time when he or she lives, works, and sleeps on the employer's premises for five days a week (120 hours or more). If a domestic worker spends less than 120 hours per week working and sleeping on the employer's premises, but spends five consecutive days or nights residing on the premises, this also constitutes an extended period of time"
The schedule would be consistent 5 days on, 5 days off. Unfortunately, how many hours they work each week will vary due to fitting 5 days in a 7-day week. They will either work 5, 4, 3, or 2 days in a week, with the other working 2, 3, 4, or 5. It is really very complicated.
When I first saw the definition, I was relieved and interpreted it that the consistent 5-day work schedules would make them count as live-in. Now I'm not so sure because it is not always 5 days per week. It is always 5 consecutive days, but not per week. 5 on/5 off.
Does anybody know if this 5 on/5 off schedule would be considered live-in?
Advocates for the law — which creates minimum staffing ratios and requires that nursing home residents get at least 3.5 hours per day of direct nursing care — said they're relieved that the delay is over.
Julie Martinez, a member of the health care workers union 1199 SEIU and a nurse at the Dunkirk nursing home in western New York, said there have been times in the past couple of years when she has been the only registered nurse on duty for 40 residents.
She said it’s “heartbreaking” to be unable to meet even the basic needs of residents, like helping them use the bathroom or getting them a glass of water.
“The staff is crying because they know that the residents are not getting quality care,” Martinez said. “They deserve it and we can’t give it to them.”
She said residents went for months without visitors earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, and sometimes they just needed to have a conversation. Martinez said she hopes the new staffing minimums will now make that possible.
They will be spending 5 consecutive days AND nights, correct?