I have been on the Medicaid Tech Waiver for 12 years since 2007. I am a 46 year old ventilator dependent mother of 4 with muscular dystrophy. I have seen a slow decline in the quality of nurses that have cared for me. I fear that this new EVV system will continue to scare the good nurses away. My agency seems to be the only agency in my area that is even using this system. That is unfair because once the word gets out, that agency will lose some of the nurses they have and they will have a hard time recruiting new nurses. 

I know they’re are pros and cons to any new system and there also needs to be a learning curve and an outlet to submit recommendations for improvement. For one thing, the grace period for clocking in and out. What if the nurse is 15 minutes late, missing the 10 minutes grace period, she is unable to clock in. Then if that same nurse wants to stay 15 later to make up her time, she misses the 10 minutes grace period and she can’t clock out. This happens often because most nurses have more than one job and work for several agencies due to low wages and the lack of affordable health benefits.

Another problem is internet service problems. I don’t even live in a rural area and often my nurses tell me that they can’t clock in because the system is offline or it can’t connect to a network, so what are they supposed to do?

I understand the need to hold everyone accountable but there has to be a better way. It’s hard enough being disabled but having to worry about suitable caregivers adds to our stress and can lead to depression. The atmosphere of home health is already in dire straits and I fear that in a couple of years, there will be very few nurses who will want to do home health, so let’s work to make it better not worse.

Sincerely,

S. Williams

CCC Plus/ Tech Waiver Recipient 

N. Chesterfield, VA