Senior Caregiver Safety FAQs: What Every Helper Needs to Know

Following safe caregiving practices as a Helper

Safety is a top concern when you’re a caregiver. You’re in charge of not only keeping your client safe and well cared for, but also ensuring your own safety. It’s essential to take care of yourself and prioritize your health and wellbeing as a caregiver so that you can continue to show up for your clients, ready to respond quickly if there’s an emergency.

Caregivers work in all different settings with different clients, and with that can come unique challenges. For our tips on safe caregiving practices, visit our article on workplace safety for caregivers in different senior care settings.

Below you’ll find caregiver safety tips and answers to top questions on Helper safety and privacy.

Caregiver safety tips for Helpers working with senior clients

What should I do if I have safety concerns about my senior care client?

Many safety concerns may be able to be resolved with help from your client and their family members. For example, if the home environment contains many tripping hazards, you can work with them to improve the environment, by tidying, rearranging furniture or rugs, and helping to keep the space clean. You can use in-app chats for fast, easy communication with the care recipient’s family members if needed.

Tip: If you have serious concerns of abuse or safety, report these to Adult Protective Services.

What should I do if I’m in an uncomfortable situation while working?

Please keep yourself safe. Move to a safe location if you need to and call 911 if it’s an emergency. Whenever possible, we strongly recommend taking steps to notify any emergency contacts if the care recipient is left alone or vulnerable. Then, call us right away at 415-506-9776 to let us know what happened.

Tip: Don’t forget to end your task or shift. You can also correct your hours later if needed.

What should I do if my Herewith client has a medical emergency?

Call 911 immediately. Or, if your client is receiving hospice care, contact their emergency number. Then, please alert your client’s emergency contacts as soon as you’re safely able to. They may have further instruction or be able to assist you in next steps.

Tip: Always make sure you have access to an emergency plan and contacts so you know what to do.

How Herewith protects caregivers and ensures your privacy

Your personal information is always private on the Herewith app. We’ve created our senior care job searching platform so that you can safely and easily search for jobs, chat with clients, and get paid while keeping your contact details and other personal information private.

Below you’ll find answers to common questions about how Herewith protects caregivers and additional resources for caregiver safety.

Who sees my personal information on Herewith?

We take privacy very seriously on the Herewith platform. Clients can only see what you choose to include on your Helper profile and message you on the app.

What clients CAN see on your Helper profile:

• Your first name
• Your profile photo (or video if you recorded one)
• Skills and areas of expertise you selected
• Badges, such as “Background-checked” or any certifications
• The short statement you wrote about yourself

What clients CAN’T see on your Helper profile

• Your last name
• Contact info
• Address
• Background check details
• Bank information
• Your other clients

During the job searching/pre-hiring process, potential clients can only contact you by messaging you on the Herewith app. Only our support team can contact you directly by phone or email with job opportunities.

Get more tips on chatting safely with clients on Herewith.

How do I report inappropriate content or behavior?

We want Herewith to be a safe space for everyone. Please report content that feels unsafe, inappropriate, or violates our Herewith Community Guidelines by emailing our customer support team at support@herewith.com or calling 415-506-9776.

What do I do if someone falsely reports my profile?

If you’re having trouble with your profile for any reason, please email our support team right away at support@herewith.com or call us at 415-506-9776 so we can help to resolve the situation.

More resources for safe caregiving practices on Herewith:

• How Helpers Can Chat with Clients & Get Booked Faster
• How to Create a Strong Helper Profile for Senior Care Jobs
• Essential Safety Tips for Caregivers in Senior Facilities & Homes
• Helper Insurance Coverage on Herewith: What You Need to Know
• How to Access Your Helper Account Info on Herewith