Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy

Village Caregiving’s Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy

The core values of Village Caregiving and its Compliance Program are set forth in Village Caregiving’s Code of Conduct and Ethics, which articulates Village Caregiving’s expectations of commitment to compliance by management and employees, and summarizes the broad ethical and legal principles under which Village Caregiving must operate. This Code of Conduct and Ethics is not all-inclusive but rather sets forth Village Caregiving’s fundamental principles, values, and framework for action. This Code of Conduct and Ethics works in conjunction with other Village Caregiving Policies and Procedures.

Code of Conduct and Ethics Procedure:

In order to work at Village Caregiving, all employees abide by these principles:

• Providing quality care to clients is Village Caregiving’s mission, and must always be the top priority.
• Village Caregiving personnel must conduct themselves with honesty and integrity.
• Doing the right thing and common sense should always guide your actions.
• Village Caregiving personnel must commit to compliance with Village Caregiving’s Policies and Procedures, all relevant state and federal laws, and payor requirements.
• Village Caregiving personnel must always treat their clients and their clients’ families with respect.
• Village Caregiving personnel must report time accurately and on time, and conduct all payroll actions with honesty. Directors must administer payroll accurately, timely, and with honesty. All billing activities must be carried out accurately and with honesty.
• Village Caregiving personnel must comply with standard record keeping and reporting procedures as well as payer source and state-specic record keeping and reporting standards.
• Village Caregiving will comply with all requirements imposed by its clients’ payers, including ensuring that it accurately bills payers for the services it provides and that it refunds any overpayments it receives and identies.
• Village Caregiving personnel must report any suspected illegal or unethical activity that they observe at Village Caregiving.
• Village Caregiving personnel must always respect other skilled and non-skilled health care providers.
• Village Caregiving personnel must report any and all suspicion of any abuse, neglect, or exploitation as soon as possible.
• Village Caregiving personnel have an absolute duty to refrain from any activity or behavior that could cause, or may cause, physical, verbal, mental, or emotional distress or abuse to a client or their family members.
• Village Caregiving personnel have an absolute duty to refrain from any activity or behavior that could exploit a client or their family members.
• Village Caregiving personnel must comply with all state and federal regulations governing the condentiality of clients and their protected health information.
  • The duty of condentiality includes the prohibition of publishing any client information on social media absent a client’s written consent.
• Village Caregiving personnel must call 911 during emergencies and remain with clients until emergency personnel arrive.
• Village Caregiving personnel must not ever engage a client in sexual conduct, or in conduct a reasonable person would interpret as sexual in nature, even if the conduct is consensual.
• Village Caregiving personnel may not ever engage in behavior a reasonable person would interpret as inappropriate involvement in a client’s personal relationships.
• Village Caregiving personnel must never engage in behavior to manipulate clients or their services for personal gain that has a detrimental result to the client or their family members.
• Village Caregiving personnel may not ever knowingly accept, obtain, or attempt to obtain money, or anything of more than de minimis value, including gifts or tips, from a client or their family members. Village Caregiving personnel have a duty to report any attempts by clients or their families to provide them with a gift or tip.
• Village Caregiving personnel may not ever accept a loan or borrow money or property from a client.
• Village Caregiving personnel may not consume alcohol while providing services to a client.
• Village Caregiving personnel may not consume medicine, drugs, or other chemical substances in a way that is illegal, unprescribed, or impairs them while providing services.
  • Village Caregiving reserves the right to drug test employees.
• Village Caregiving personnel may not leave a client’s home when scheduled to provide services for a purpose that is not related to providing services without notifying their supervisor and their client or the respective emergency contact person.
• Village Caregiving personnel may never engage in any activity that might unreasonably distract them from providing services. These activities might include:
  • Unreasonably watching television, movies, or videos, or playing games on personal phones or other electronic devices whether owned by the client or personally.
  • Excessive non-care-related socialization with a person other than the client during a shift (for instance, a visit from a person who is not providing care to the client; making or receiving numerous personal telephone calls; and sending or receiving numerous personal text messages, social media messages, emails, or videos).
  • Providing care to a person other than the client.
  • Unwelcome smoking or vaping of tobacco or any other material during a shift.
  • Sleeping or napping during a shift.
  • Bringing an unauthorized child, friend, relative, person, or pet, to a client’s place of residence.
  • Unwelcome discussion of religion or politics with a client or others.
  • Unwelcome discussion of personal issues with a client or others.
• Conflicts of interest are grounds to preclude certain caregiver-client relationships. For instance, a client’s power of attorney may not serve as the client’s caregiver.
• Village Caregiving personnel must not make decisions, or be designated to make decisions, for a client in any capacity involving a declaration of mental health treatment, power of attorney, durable power of attorney, guardianship, or any other decision-making
  capacity.
• Village Caregiving personnel must refrain from selling items to, or purchasing items from, clients.
• Village Caregiving personnel must refrain from unreasonably consuming a client’s food or drinks, or using a client’s personal property, unless the client gives specific and unambiguous permission to do so.
• Village Caregiving personnel must always respect other skilled and non-skilled health care providers.

All employees must formally agree to abide by the Code of Conduct and Ethics by signing a copy before the beginning of their employment with Village Caregiving. Violations of any provisions of the Code of Conduct and Ethics subject Village Caregiving employees to punishment up to, and including, immediate termination.