Residential Services of Northeastern Minnesota, Inc.
2900 Piedmont Ave
Duluth, MN 55811
Phone: (218) 727-2696
Fax: (218) 727-2893
Website: http://www.residentialservices.org
Residential Services of Northeastern Minnesota, Inc.
2900 Piedmont Ave
Duluth, MN 55811
Phone: (218) 727-2696
Fax: (218) 727-2893
Website: http://www.residentialservices.org
Residential Services of NE MN, Inc.Employee health and safety, as well as that of clients and co-workers are of great importance and are a responsibility we all share. Health and safety programs and procedures have been developed for everyone’s protection.
All chemicals used at RSI must have a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that describes the properties and uses of the substance, its chemical and physical properties, health hazard information, precautions for use, safe handling information and what to do in case of an exposure to the chemical. Employees must read the information and follow instructions and precautions outlined in the MSDS before using any chemicals.
Employees providing client care may inadvertently become exposed to contagious disease or other sources of infection. In the event of exposure, contact your Program Nurse or the On Call Nurse immediately and follow their instructions. Fill out an Occupational Exposure form located in the Exposure Control Plan at each program as soon as reasonably possible. Forms should then be submitted to the Safety Coordinator.
To prevent exposure, universal precautions are to be followed at all times. Under universal precautions all clients are considered to be possible carriers of blood-borne pathogens. Use gloves, masks, and other protection as appropriate. ALWAYS WASH HANDS THOROUGHLY BEFORE AND AFTER CLIENT CONTACT for a minimum duration of 15 seconds.
| Back to HandbookEmployees are required to maintain adequate physical and emotional health to meet performance standards, according to assigned duties during assigned work hours. An employee may be directed to leave work if, in the opinion of his/her supervisor, the employee poses a risk to either the clients, coworkers or themselves by being at work. An employee may be asked to provide documentation as to their fitness for duty.
Every staff member shall be in good health and free from communicable diseases during working hours. During periods of flu or other contagious disease outbreaks, RSI may publish criteria for employees to be able to work; such information will be provided on the staff section of the company website. In the judgment of the employer, the employee’s continued presence must pose no risk to the health of the employee, other employees or clients.
Health care workers who have open draining wounds must refrain from all direct client care and handling of client care equipment until the condition is resolved.
It is the responsibility of employees who have contracted a contagious disease which may be transmitted to others or who are immunosuppressed to notify their immediate supervisor and/or Human Resources for reasonable accommodation. Caseloads will be restructured as appropriate. Pregnant employees wishing to request a schedule change should ask their scheduler.
Staff members who are injured outside of work must, if their injury would affect their ability to perform their job effectively, report their injuries to their immediate supervisor as soon as is reasonably possible.
Employees who are on any type of drug which may impact their ability to perform their job, are required to immediately report this to their supervisor. Failure to do so could put the client’s health and safety at risk.
| Back to HandbookDepending upon program specific licensing requirements, staff may be required to show evidence of freedom from tuberculosis or other communicable diseases.
| Back to HandbookRSI purchases workers’ compensation insurance, as required by Minnesota law. Benefit determinations will be made by the workers’ compensation insurer. If you are injured on the job:
Employees who receive work restrictions as a result of injury must report these restrictions to the Safety Coordinator immediately following all medical appointments. Employees who will be restricted from working for extended periods are required to attend all follow-up medical appointments to be scheduled no more than two weeks apart.
Employees may be asked to supply Physical Job Descriptions to their treating physicians in order to determine what accommodations they will need to return to work. Once given a physical job description form, the employee must return it, fully completed and signed by a physician before returning to work. The supervisor will meet with the employee to review the restrictions. The employee is responsible for following the restrictions precisely.
| Back to HandbookYou are required to promptly report any adverse incident which occurs in the course of your work. These include accidents, theft, loss or damage to property, and incidents involving clients, whether or not you were directly involved. You should report the incident to your supervisor immediately and complete the appropriate occurrence report.
| Back to HandbookWhen travel may limit the ability of staff members to reach the home, staff members who are working during weather emergencies are not allowed to leave the facility unless sufficient staff remain at the home to provide minimum required supervision ratios. Minimum staff-to-client ratios are described in the Program Abuse Prevention Plan or the Adult Foster Home Program Plan posted in each facility. The supervisor/designee needs to be prepared to modify the schedule on short notice to insure adequate staffing to meet the needs of the program.
If you are unable to get to work or snowed in due to a blizzard or other weather condition, you must find alternative transportation to work. If public transportation is not running, call the house where you are scheduled to work.
For answers to questions regarding staffing the home during weather emergencies, call the program supervisor. If after-hours or on weekends, call the On-Call Supervisor.
When weather conditions require clients to remain home from day programs, morning shift staff are expected to stay with clients until replacements arrive. Staff should monitor the radio and television for updates regarding weather closings at day training and habilitation or sheltered workshop settings. Clients who are competitively employed should call their supervisors regarding instructions on going to work.
If severe weather conditions develop in the afternoon and evenings that may lead to closings of day programs for the following day, begin preparations for staffing the home. Call the On-Call Supervisor for further instructions, if needed.
| Back to HandbookIt is RSI's intent to provide a safe working environment for all employees. Caregivers, however, are often in situations where the environment is not controlled. In all circumstances, the following rules are to be adhered to. This list is not intended to be all inclusive:
