Living Independently At Any Age

Hi guys! Hope you are all having a great weekend! I just want to share this with anyone who wants to

know about Self Directed Care or about being a "Self Manager" of your own personal care attendants or Personal Care Assistants. For about twenty years I have been blessed with being able to hire and

Illustration of me,  by me :o), Anita Harris Berglund

manage my own, thanks to the program in the video below about the program in Ontario, Canada.
Click here to see a previous article about my personal experience hiring and managing my own care.

There are programs available in some countries that have such services to enable independent living. It is perfect for those of us who want to have a say in who enters our home to provide care and assistance and who do not mind carrying out the administrative aspects. In fact to be a self manager under the Ontario D/F program, the applicant must be able to recruit, hire, train and administrate their own employees.

Watch Below: Direct Funding - Ontario, Canada

Prior to hiring my own PCAs, I was enabled to live independently in an S.S.L.U. apartment building for eleven years. That may be an option for you or someone you care about. Support Service Living Unit means, there were on site 24hour PCAs. When I needed a hand, I just phoned. Emergencies
were answered to with a paging system. Now it means possibly waiting because they work for all who require their assistance. It worked adequately early on. I was thankful to be able to live on my own. Only trouble, not all PCAs are kind, caring, respectful and compassionate. But if you needed a hand say to go to the washroom, and someone who may cause discomfort or uneasiness is working, you have to press through it or hold "it" in. And that isn't good for your body.  Until the Ministry of Health developed Direct Funding, it was my only way to live alone.

There are people who have insurance settlements from accidents and such or plans that enable them to hire and manage their own care. In Canada we can receive tax credits/deductions for any funds used to hire someone to assist with daily living.

Then in many places as in Ontario, there are agencies that offer homecare assistance. You may not get to choose or even know who will be coming into your bedroom in the morning to help you up, but, it is better than being stuck in a hospital. We have met friends who had to live in a hospital for a year or two after rehabilitation from an injury or life altering illness, waiting for a wheelchair accessible apartment/home.

The Aging Population and Independent Living
Because of the Baby Boomer population, there is a high population of dear citizens who are entering stages of life when they require more physical assistance. Without assistance, it may be too dangerous or just physically impossible to live alone. Many of us have spouses and family/friends who lend a loving hand to enable aging and residing our home. However some do not and they want to live out their life in their own home and not a home for the aged.
What is Available for Me?

 If you are getting older, like my husband. Our Province (an maybe where you reside) does have

There're always dear little friends 

who lend a hand!

agencies that provide in home care services. CCAC, Community Care Access is the one stop "Shopping" for receiving assistance. If you aren't sure, Please check with your family Doctor what options are available.
My Mom just informed us that we apparently can call Red Cross to have volunteers come to shovel our snow for seniors. We will be calling to check on that service.
What If I Need Nursing Care?
If you require care that only can be administered by a medical facility than please follow your physician's care plan for you. However, if you are able to have you health issues managed at home,  there are places where in home nurses are available. Depending on your preferences and needs. Personally, if I had healthcare needs such as medication administered or a wound cleaned and dressed,  I would simply train my own PCAs to provide that care. However exercising discretion and wisdom to seek out medical professionals if my situation had no other choice.

If you have any questions please comment below or email us at walkingwayoverrated@gmail.com
Hope this was helpful :o)

MY PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANT ADVERTISEMENT

drawing by me, Anita - That is supposed
to be me hanging in the hoyer lift.

For about 20 years now, due to my physical disability, I have been a Direct Funding,  Self Manager. Hiring and training people without and with, previous experience to be my “arms and legs,” Personal Care Attendants, giving me a hand with the physical aspects of daily living.

 

What I require help with is getting into and out of bed, getting dressed, transferring to my wheelchair with a mechanical lift, range of motion physio (training provided), assistance with personal care, hygiene, various aspects of housekeeping, yard work, errands and other tasks as needed.

 

If you are interested in knowing more about the PCA position in Thunder Bay, (for me) just click the video above to learn more. :o)

REQUIREMENTS

-Be willing to be trained 

- Able to follow detailed directions well.

-Be a non-smoker (I am severely allergic)

-Because I am a female, I prefer female PCAs

-Must have valid drivers license, vehicle

-If no vehicle, must live very close to Dufferin Street, Thunder Bay

-Must be physically strong, caring, flexible, trustworthy and understanding.

Due to the personal nature of a PCA, thought it would help if those interested wanted to know more about the position and me, the person in need of a hand. I have had some PCAs work for us as long as 8 years! It is a great job for someone who is seeking something with short shifts to work around another position, classes or make some extra money and receive great pay, $19.00 an hour. 

ON THE JOB TRAINING

Applicants, don't require any diplomas or certificates. What matters most to me (aside from the basic requirements) is someone who wants meaningful employment, willing to be trained on the job, is caring, and able to follow directions. Without the assistance from my PCAs, I wouldn't be able to go to or get out of bed. Super important role.

New Arms and Legs....

PCAs or PSWs? What's the Difference?
It's time again. Time to hire a new Personal Care Attendant/Assistant. Sadly, one of my regular girls are moving away.
Personal Care Attendants, or Personal Care Assistants and Personal Support Workers, essentially all carry out the same duties. Yes, duties may vary depending on the company one works for, or in my case, the individual you work for. Being hired by an individual, self manager or by family members to assist one individual, is far different than being hired by a company to provide care for many clients.
Over twenty years ago, I was involved with assisting in interviews to hire for the company I

originally used the services of. They used the job title Personal Care Attendant and later changed it to,  Personal Care Assistant. It worked for me, and either of those titles are what I choose to call my girls.
Personal Support Worker or Not?
When I first became a self manager about twenty years ago, one of my first employees signed up to take the very first Personal Support Worker program at our local college. She and I initially laughed, wondering why folks would have to pay to learn something that you could learn on the job. That is how she came to work for me and how I still hire, no special certificates required. She signed up for it because her school fees were being covered by her other employer, a large home care company. As she worked through the first PSW program, she did affirm that they didn't really learn anything worth paying hundreds of dollars for. She was an exceptional individual, only 19 when I hired her. She was one of the most responsible, level headed, caring individuals I ever was blessed with, to have as a PCA. She went on to use her natural skills to continue being a care giver and become a manager for a company that provides supportive housing.
When it comes to the validity of the PSW programs that are throughout North America these days, I must say, I have learned why it it was created. Well, no one told me, I base this on what I have learned since way back then. This program was created so care giving companies, such, as seniors care homes, could have a standard when hiring. It is much easier to state that applicants must have a specific diploma. It levels the playing field and they could have a foundation to start from, knowing that all applicants would know the basics. As well, the PSW program has definitely evolved into  much more, offering more healthcare skills and knowledge that was not in the original program. It makes sense to me now, even though it didn't in the beginning.
That being said,  I still choose to consider all applicants, those with or without any healthcare training. In fact, in over twenty years, I must say that the majority of my employees have not been PSWs. It hasn't been intentional. I have had a lot of wonderful ladies of all ages, who are just interested in helping me out. They are willing to learn, able to follow directions well and are just plain great employees. My employees have been college and university students, be it Out door Recreation, Nursing, Environmental Studies...the point being when you hire your own PCAs, you can set the terms you prefer. So for me, I have hire standards, in that I seek out not certain papers, but those who are trustworthy, dependable, willing to be trained, flexible, kind and compassionate. It is what works for me.

Why do I not require PSW certificates? 
Because I have found based on my eleven years with a company that did the hiring and managing, (more on that in part two to come.) that they didn't have any set standards. It was all about the interview, about the personality, their references, the ability to learn and the desire to lend a hand and listen to the tenant's directions or needs. Carrying out tasks as if it were the person, like me doing it, enabling people again, like me, to live independently. I did criticize that this company didn't have any foundational standards or requirements and that was the reason why there were often issues with employee behaviour. After all, to me, it made sense that when you hire for many tenants or clients, that you would want to have a base requirement, hoping to obtain the best quality care possible. But, since hiring my own PCAs, I choose to go by each individual, rather than seek paper work, just the way they do/did it.

Set In Stone
My experience has been that those who already work for care providing companies, instead of individual/private hire, or those who have PSW certificates, they often are set in a pattern. Some are set in stone and some not. It makes sense that when one pays and enrols in a program such as the Personal Support Worker one, you are seeking to learn and follow the directions they give you. The ultimate goal, to obtain a job in that field. No doubt, most of those who take a program like that have a specific target. Some just want to be in charge, carrying out tasks as they were taught, and even as they want to. Many of these positions, require the initiative of the employee and not the wishes or direction of the client. This is an entire different focus and when someone like me is interviewing someone with a back ground like that, I have learned to ask the right questions. I need to discover if they would be able to handle my direction, and let go of what they have been taught. It is important that I let them know that I will need them to be my arms and legs under my direction. It may sound rather odd to some, but trust me it has been an issue. Statistically, many who are trained to work in insttuions and such, get offended when you ask them to do things in a specific way. It isn't their fault, it is just how they are wired or how they were taught.

This doesn't mean PSW certificate people don't work out for a private hiring self manager like me. It means, I just need to let them know what my expectations are and to really be specific in the interview, it is usually pretty easy to know if someone needs to be the "boss" in a sense, and just wouldn't be a suitable fit for my needs.

I don't know what it is, but, nursing students and nurses are wonderful employees. Even though they too are trained to do things a certain way, they "get" that I need them to carry out tasks the way I like.  They aren't offended if I ask them to make the bed the way I like, doing it how I would if I could....

Experience Or Not?
The question then remains about hiring PCAs, should they have experience in health care or not? Well, based on what I have experienced, it sometimes helps make the initial training period more comfortable. Only because you are physically unclothed for some tasks and it is easy to feel uncomfortable at first. Knowing they have seen it all before, makes it easier. But then, not necessarily. Seriously, it seems to be all about the personality. If someone is kind, friendly and open to giving you a hand, understanding why you need them...then being naked and depending on their help, becomes more comfortable than you realized. So the answer is, yes and no. It depends on each person. Whatever works for you, works. I can only talk about and offer advice, with what I have experience with.
Thank You To All Who Have Graced My Life
I want to say that because of so many wonderful personalities, willing hearts to help and understanding of what it means to be my "arms and legs," the physical aspect of my life has been able to happen. I am blessed by God to be able to live independently because of great ladies who make it possible. Because of their smiling faces and helpful attitude, never offended by one particular request, my life is extra blessed. :o)