In a field where care starts with the caregiver, Individual Providers (IP) are often hesitant to take time off due to illness or report injuries. But Dawn Scott, an IP for 15 years, wants people to know that there’s a better way.

“I used to think that we just have to do whatever we have to do to care for the consumer,” Scott says. “But I’ve learned that it’s also easy to get worn down. If we don’t set boundaries and take care of ourselves, the consequences can be as bad for us as they can be for the consumer.”

One day while stretching a sheet across a bed, a spinal disc slipped in her back. “I asked a doctor if it was something that was work-related, and she said no.”

But thanks in part to classes Scott took through the Advanced Home Care Aide Apprenticeship Program, she later learned the truth. “I now know that it should’ve been reported as a work-related injury. I could’ve filed an L&I claim, but I didn’t know any better.”

At SEIU 775’s 2015 convention, Health Benefits Trust staff Leslie Phillips and Allison Hansell held a “Stay Safe Workshop” with caregivers. Workers were encouraged to think of caregiving injuries as “on-the-job” injuries, even if they happen at home with a family consumer.

“Some people won’t report injuries because they think they may lose their job somehow,” Scott says, echoing one of the most frequent responses given by those who attended the workshop. “Or they’ll think maybe it was their fault somehow. And sometimes even admitting that we’re hurt is the hardest part.”

Scott never wants Home Care Aides to be in a situation where they wish they could hit the rewind button. “If I have anything that I suspect may be addressed, I do it,” Scott says.

Other Home Care Aides are hesitant to report injuries because they don’t want to let their consumers down. But Scott has actually found a way to have self-care be a positive part of her relationship with her consumers.

“I’m very open. I’ll tell a consumer ‘OK, we have to do this a certain way so that I don’t injure myself.’ Or I let it be known that I’ll have to find a safer or easier way to do something,” she says. “If it helps the caregiver, a lot of consumers will understand that it’s good for them, too.”

An avid Harley-Davidson rider, Scott understands that there is strength in numbers. “New caregivers should get a mentor, a caregiver who has been in the field a little longer than you.”

She also strongly recommends the apprenticeship program, which she says helped her look at home care work as a “profession with rules of conduct and protections, like health insurance, that we should take advantage of,” Scott says. “It also introduced me to forms of equipment for transporting and handling consumers like Hoyer Lifts and Lazy Susans that can reduce the risk of injury.”

Scott wants her fellow Home Care Aides to report injuries when they happen and to practice preventive care. “A lot of damage can be done to our bodies over the course of time,” she says.

But more than anything, Scott wants other caregivers to know they should not feel afraid to be vulnerable – or to admit that they already are. “Certain repetitive tasks can be really hard on your body,” Scott says.

“So much of the time we think we’re strong and that we just have to muscle through it. But often times that isn’t good for us, and it isn’t always good for the consumer, either.”

Steps to Reporting Your Injury

When you are injured at your Consumer’s home or your own home as a family caregiver, report your injury to Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).

If your claim is accepted, you will receive worker’s compensation to pay for medical care directly. If you are unable to work following your injury, you may be eligible for a portion of your lost wages.

Learn more and file your claim at the LNI website»

Translated steps to reporting your injury:

如何报告您的工伤

업무상 재해 보고 방법

Sida Loo Sheego Dhaawacaaga Shaqada

Cómo reportar su lesión

Cách Thức Báo Cáo Chấn Thương Tại Nơi Làm Việc của Quý Vị

Как сообщить о травме на работе