PCA consumer safeguards

It is good to have a plan in place for a medical emergency. You may want to carry a card or small piece of paper with you and also post this information in your home:

• Diagnosis
• Medications
• Allergies
• Health conditions and instructions
• Emergency contact information
• Doctor contact information
• Insurance information

Be sure to discuss evacuation plans with your friends, family and PCA.
Discuss the type of emergency and what action would be needed to evacuate safely.
Put together a disaster supply kit that includes what you would need to survive for three to ten days on your own.
Develop a checklist for evacuation including:

• Contact numbers for helpers
• Transportation options
• Medications
• Medical supplies

There are three basic kinds of adult maltreatment:

• Abuse - physical, emotional or sexual
• Neglect - caregiver neglect or self-neglect
• Financial exploitation

The Minnesota Vulnerable Adults Act lists the different types of people considered a vulnerable adult under the law. Every adult recipient of PCA or home care services is considered a vulnerable adult.

Physical abuse is when someone is harming you by hurting your body. This includes:

• Hitting
• Slapping
• Punching
• Pushing
• Refusing to help someone with a medical need
• Not giving someone medication

Sexual abuse is when someone:

• Touches you sexually
• Talks to you sexually
• Shows you sexual material or body parts

Financial abuse/exploitation is when someone:

• Uses your money or accounts without your permission or in a different way than you instructed.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or one of these others:

• Your county's common entry point, staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• Your case manager
• Family member or friend
• Your qualified professional
• Your PCA provider agency
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman at 800-657-3591 or 800-627-3529 (TTY)
• Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities at 800-657-3506

Contact your local county agency or tribe (PDF), or call the police. Minnesota' child protection agencies

• DHS adult protection services unit
• DHS child protection