Private care home residents should never be unattended

Question: Is the certified caregiver of a private care home allowed to hold a second job outside her home while caring for one or more older persons in her home? Are there provisions that require the caregiver to allow the elderly some time spent outdoors versus being kept indoors at all times, and to allow and assist the elderly with daily walking versus a bed-to-wheelchair and wheelchair-to-bed routine? Who do I turn to to express any grievances about a private home caregiver?

Answer: The primary certified caregiver of residents in a care home may be absent as long as a substitute caregiver of equal or similar qualifications is present, said Keith Ridley, chief of the state Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Assurance.

"The expectation is that the caregiver’s primary job is as caregiver in the home," he said.

Absences are allowed, such as for going to the market, taking a resident to a doctor’s appointment, even for a second job, as long as the residents are properly cared for, he said. "At no time shall care residents be left unattended."

If any residents are known to have been left alone in a Community Care Foster Family Home, call Community Ties of America, on Oahu at 234-5380, or OHCA at 692-7400.

Community Ties is the state’s contractor and primary regulatory reviewer for foster family homes, while OHCA is the contact for Adult Residential Care Homes. Inspectors from both agencies enforce the state’s requirements.

You may also call Adult Protective Services at 832-5115 on Oahu. If you witness imminent or actual harm, Ridley said to call police.

Residential care homes are meant to provide a homelike environment, and caregivers are expected to provide care as if the resident is a family member.

So caregivers are required to have residents out of bed and appropriately dressed daily unless indicated otherwise by a physician or nurse.

Recreational and social activities also must be provided regularly, although residents cannot be compelled to participate if they don’t want to.

Activities may include those provided by community agencies away from the home, and visits by family and friends are encouraged.

Go to health.hawaii.gov/ohca for more information.

Question: Where does the money paid to health care facilities go? Care facilities need better rules and regulations to keep our sick and seniors safe! We recently had a heartbreaking experience at a facility, recommended by a hospital, which ultimately ended in a lot of suffering for my elderly mother. The conditions were appalling, with no air conditioning and sweltering rooms, and the putrid odor of feces and urine everywhere. In the evening the recreation/dining room turned into extra bedrooms for patients. Male patients walked around unattended with just their diapers on. I hope our concern will protect someone else’s loved ones from living in these deplorable conditions.

Answer: You should follow through by filing a complaint with the state Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Assurance.

Submit your complaint in writing to the Department of Health, Office of Health Care Assurance Medicare Section, 601 Kamokila Blvd. Room 395, Kapolei, HI 96707.

You may submit a complaint form — bit.ly/1GTySEI — but the form is not required as long as the information provided in writing includes the information requested on the form. The form may also be faxed to 692-7447.

Question: If one loses his state ID card, how does one go about replacing it?

Answer: To get a duplicate state ID card, you need to go to one of the city’s five driver’s licensing stations — not a satellite city hall — and complete an application form.

If your card is lost or stolen, you need to bring a photo ID.

If you changed your name through divorce, marriage, naturalization, etc., you need to bring in your original or certified state document showing the change.

If you changed your address, you need to bring in two acceptable documents showing proof of your new principal residence. (For acceptable documents, go to bit.ly/1JQu2MO.) Cost for a duplicate ID card is $6.

Mahalo

To a kind person. As I was stewing in my own predicament over a "lost" driver’s license recently, a voice on the other end of the telephone said she had found it on Magic Island and would drive it over to my retirement residence. I was so grateful and relieved that I offered her a reward, which she promptly refused. Indeed, there are angels in our midst. — Anonymous

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.