We have taken quick action to care for our own workforce. We have reminded our team members of the substantial internal resources at their disposal, including our Employee Assistance Program for those who are currently struggling with what has happened. Our team leaders have been conducting routine check-ins with their teams, and we are making counseling services available to all who need them. We have begun piloting a 7-hour personal safety training course in Connecticut for team members related to protocols and steps they can take to avoid unsafe situations if possible and exit them if necessary.
We have listened to requests from our team members and are exploring and piloting several different personal safety solutions, including wearable personal alarms and access to pepper spray for self-protection. Workable solutions will be implemented more broadly based on the results of the pilots and the needs of our service lines. We will continue to listen to needs as they arise and will work to meet them. Simply put, our caregivers’ safety and well-being are and will continue to be our top priority.
While we have taken these immediate steps, we are also reviewing the protocols and processes that bring clients with complicated and interdependent behavioral health needs into our care and will be working with the broader community of providers and support systems surrounding these clients. Many of these changes will likely extend beyond our reach and it will take partnership with government, service organizations and the communities in which we operate to be successful. While we plan on taking a leadership role in influencing and affecting positive change, what happened to one of our team members was a wake-up call to all home health providers and those who care for clients in their homes.
We are committed to helping our behavioral health clients function and thrive. Leaving them untreated would create an untenable situation: a return to institutionalization or individuals living in communities with unmet behavioral needs. We are committed to ensuring that our team can do their job safely and believe they deserve nothing less as they carry forward our mission of care.
What happened?
An Elara Caring behavioral health nurse was killed while on duty.
How could this happen?
The details of this event are currently in the hands of law enforcement. While we cannot speak to the specifics of this incident, we are reviewing the processes and protocols that bring clients into our care and will be working with the broader community of caregivers and support systems surrounding clients who have complicated and interdependent behavioral health needs.
How has Elara Caring responded to this event?
Elara Caring has moved swiftly to care for our own workforce, from offering our Employee Assistance Program for those who are struggling with what has happened to making counseling services available to all who need them. We have begun piloting a number of programs including a 7-hour personal training course in Connecticut and piloting personal safety solutions including wearable personal alarms and access to pepper spray for self-protection.
What is the company’s top priority?
Our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of our employees and ensuring that our team can do their job in safe environments so they can carry forward our mission of care.
Has the company been in contact with the victim’s family?
The family has asked us to respect their privacy, which we will do. We are aware that a number of our employees have actively supported the GoFundMe site that the family set up in her honor.
I am upset and concerned about what happened? What help is available to me?
Our Employee Assistance Program is up and running to support our employees, including both in-person and virtual support options.
What are you doing to ensure this doesn’t happen again?
While we cannot speak to the specifics of this incident, we are reviewing the processes and protocols that bring clients into our care and will be working with the broader community of caregivers and support systems surrounding clients who have complicated and interdependent behavioral health needs.
If I am afraid to go into a client’s home, what should I do?
Each and every nurse, caregiver and health care professional should have confidence that they can treat and serve their clients safely. Any caregiver who feels unsafe walking into a client’s home has the right to refuse. Any caregiver who is in a situation where they feel at all unsafe should immediately leave.
I work in Connecticut and keep getting asked about this tragedy. What should I say?
Please refer all inquiries to your manager or the appropriate party, including to our communication team shorowitz@lakpr.com if you get a specific media inquiry.
Are we going to stop seeing patients, especially those in our behavioral health space?
We remain committed to helping our behavioral health clients function and thrive. Leaving them untreated would create an untenable situation: a return to institutionalization or individuals living in communities with unmet behavioral health needs. We are committed to ensuring that our team can do their job in safe environments and believe they deserve nothing less as they carry forward our mission of care.