Diabetic Employee

KathyA

We have a diabetic employee who lives alone and occasionally lapses into a diabetic coma before he gets to work in the morning (which he has admitted is his own fault for not taking insulin in time, etc.). If he's late, his supervisor calls his home to check on him, but the phone does not wake him during those times. What is our responsibility (if any), as an employer, to respond to his emergency needs? I don't want to start a pattern of him relying on us for emergency help, but I don't want to turn my back on someone who may need emergency care. Help?!?!?! Thank you.

bsa

I beleive that you can call your local police for a "welfare check". They will dispatch an officer to the EE's residence to see if there is a problem. I have not had to use this, so I don't have any experience with response time.

Or ask the EE for the name/phone# of someone who lives close by who could check on him.

I would have the same concerns as you and would step out a few times for him; but if it became a weekly thing, I would recommend that he see his doctor.

cthr

I seriously doubt that your employee is lapsing in to a coma. Diabetic commas are usually caused by too high an insulin level not too low a level or in simple terms too low a glucose level. This is usually treated with a shot from a glucose pen and if the employee is in a coma and lives alone, there is no one to inject them and they will die. They will not come out of the coma on their own.

My suggestion is to have your employee speak with his medical provider about a better way to regulate his levels if he has this problem on a regular basis. It sounds like he might be taking too much insulin at night and when he gets up in the morning, he may be light headed, disoriented, etc. THis can be very serious. My husband is a diabetic, who is also a health care professional-he has always told me that high blood sugar kills over the long term, low blood sugar can kill instantly.