WRAP-UP Edition This is the 14th Edition of our Newsletter. newsletter@prefhealthcare.com
Future Frontline Compensation
Inside This Issue
PSW Council
2
Health & Wellness
2
Hidden Video Cameras?
3
Ethics & IDEA
3
Awards Accolades and Achievements
4
PSW Week
5
Travel Time Policy
6
Easier work and improved client care!
7
Team Meetings
8
General Info
8
Newsletter @prefhealthcare.com
The rate of pay for Personal Support Workers (PSWs) in home care is based on a Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) required minimum base wage of $12.50 per hour exclusive of any additional benefits. This rate was established in 2006 by the government as part of a stabilization strategy for service provided on behalf of Community Care access Centres (CCACs) and has not been adjusted since that time even though there have been adjustments to the minimum wage in general job categories (most recently in 2010.) Additionally opportunities to increase wages have been compromised as a result of the government‘s wage restraint policy. Preferred Health Care Services is a member of the Ontario Home Care Association and our President, Tracy Jones is on their Board. The association submitted a request on behalf of all PSWs working in the home care sector to increase their wage rate with funds flowing directly from the Ministry to the providers so we can adjust wages for our PSWs.
Tracy Jones –President
The Ontario Home Care Association recommends that the government fund a three percent increase in minimum wage for PSWs delivering publicly funded care through the CCAC bringing the hourly minimum wage to $12.88. The funding should reflect the increase of 3% plus benefits of 20% creating a total compensation base package of $15.45 per hour. This increase should be applied to all projected CCAC PSW hours in the province plus 30% to reflect travel time compensation obligations. The total cost to the government based on 201112 hours would be approximately $468,980,532.00 Since providers have not had a rate increase from CCAC in over 3 years we are hoping that in 2013/2014 we will also have a rate increase to help us cope with our increasing costs. In addition to the above, and in response to your feedback from the employee survey, Preferred has completed an analysis of our PSW rates and compared our rates to our main competitors. Our average base rate (i.e. before travel and benefits) is $13.72 for PSWs who have worked with PHCS for 3 or more years . With travel the average hourly rate is $16.50. This rate plus benefits exceeds our competitor‘s rates! We identified 85 PSWs whose average base rates were $13.00 or less. A review of these 85 found that not all of the required certification was kept up to date and/or the PSW did not attend their annual performance review. Starting in 2014, your performance review will be 100% focused on ensuring your skills and certifications are up-to-date and to develop your personal goals and education plan.
Any increase in pay rates will be based on performance across all positions within Preferred Health Care Services and the percentage of increase will be communicated once all budgets have been approved.
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PSW Advisory Council The PSW Advisory Council continues to meet quarterly to discuss your ideas and concerns and bring them forward to management. So far this year the following improvements were implemented:
Uniform shirts to have front pockets.
WHMIS does identify that PSWs should not use caustic chemicals in the home (e.g. ammonia, bleach).
Cell Phone use was added to the T2200 for all Front Line Staff. Defined light housekeeping for CCAC clients. PSW Week – In the community to acknowledge and celebrate. Discuss and help resolve PDA issues. Review of new travel policy. Identified that WHMIS does not cover ‗cosmetic‘ chemicals e.g. hair dye. To determine whether a policy needs to be developed. Members of the Advisory Council encourage you to share your ideas by leaving a detailed message at extension 7337. All ideas are discussed at the meeting and anonymously shared with management.
PSW Education/Training Opportunities Ongoing Education and Skills Development Did you know that the CCAC‘s require all PSWs to have up-to-date CPR and First Aid? In addition they also expect PSWs to have specialized training in Palliative Care, caring for people with Dementia, Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and caring for children and youth. It is your responsibility to keep your CPR and First Aid certifications up to date. We will continue to help you to do this by offering courses at PHCS every month. Please pay attention to the course offerings and sign-up before your certification expires. If you take your re-certification somewhere else please bring us your updated certificate. We also reimburse you for your course fee with proof of receipt.
Upcoming courses: Our education department has developed specialized training for you. As of January PSWs who have completed these trainings will be assigned to these clients before those who do not. The more training you have the easier it will be for you to have clients. This fall PSWs who are already serving clients with these conditions will be contacted to complete the training. In 2014 we will open the courses to other PSWs.
See education calendar insert for upcoming sessions
To listen to upcoming WWC opportunities check voicemail box 7333 To sign up, leave your name, employee number, and voicemail number and the H&W session you would like to attend.
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In-home Hidden Cameras & PSWs Elder abuse stories are coming forward to the public leaving families searching for a way to protect their loved ones. Many long-term care facilities and retirement communities are now placing hidden video cameras in resident rooms, with the permission of families or legal representatives. Why? In home care we are also seeing an inThe fear of home-care visits? The reality of home-care visits? creased use of hidden video cameras or ―Nanny Cams‖ to give families ―real time‖ access via Cell phone applications to see what is going on in their home when they are not there. As a community care Personal Support Worker, how do you feel about that? Leave your comments on the Ethics’ voicemail #8000 and we will add your comments to the next newsletter
Ethics & You A client is refusing to take a bath. Their daughter insists they have a bath. What do you do? Ethics deals with issues that don‘t seem to have a correct answer. It doesn‘t matter what‘s done, someone is going to be unhappy. The four
I D E A steps, as set by the Community Ethics Network spring workshop, can make ethically-
challenging situations less stressful.
Identify the facts – What do you know about the situation and what don‘t you know? Who is involved and how are they involved? Are there any differences of value or life quality considerations? Don‘t obsess over what is right, as many possible solutions may be correct. Look instead to who is being affected the most and what impacts each decision will have.
Determine conflicting ethical issues– Why is this situation a problem? What values are conflicting? Explore options – Think about other situations you‘ve been in. Are any of them similar? Could you apply the same solution to this problem? Think about who should really be making the decision. Is it the daughter‘s right to force the client to have a bath? If you don‘t know what to do, calling the office is always a reasonable solution. There could be a company policy covering the issue you don‘t know about.
Act and evaluate –At the end, you should think about whether you want your decision to run on the front page of the Globe and Mail; do you want the world to know about your decision? The IDEA steps can help you solve ethical problems out in the field, but if you aren‘t sure of your decision, or would like a second opinion, you can always call the office.
Leave your comments on this scenario to voicemail #8000 We will share your views in the next newsletter
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The Annual Accolades & Achievements extravaganza was held on Tuesday June 11, 2013. It was your time to shine, with the best and brightest in attendance. Many received service awards of 1, 3, 5, and 10 years. In addition ―Education Points‖ awards and special acknowledgements were bestowed on dedicated frontline staff.
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Personal Support Workers’ Week – “Our heroes in the home‖. PSW Day was May 16 2013 but we couldn't just celebrate our PSWs with one day so we created PSW Week. Walmart stores in Keswick—Markham—Richmond Hill—Scarborough—Vaughan & 2nd Cup in Aurora participated in handing out little ―thank you‘s‖ to our staff that popped by during their busy day. PSWs from the community, the PSW Council and office staff were there to share with the public how much we value our Personal Support Workers!
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Changes to Travel Time New Travel Policy Geared towards Reducing Client Complaints Other than specific service issues, our number one complaint from clients is that we arrive late or leave early. In addition we have heard from PSWs that they are not given enough travel time. To address this and try to reduce complaints we are implementing a new Travel Policy. The travel policy outlines that the Client Care Coordinators are to schedule a minimum of 15minutes between visits so that PSWs have time to get to their next appointment and not be rushed. Of course this does not apply for shared care buildings, or related clients under one roof. In addition Coordinators will be explaining to clients that the actual time of the visit will have a window of 30 minutes to allow for travel time. In other words a PSW may arrive 15 minutes before or 15 minutes after the scheduled visit time. To review this policy we are asking all PSWs to sign-on to eLearning – review the policy and sign-off that you understand.
Fire and Falls Prevention Did you complete your Fire and Falls Prevention Training on E-Learning?
Please pick up the client education DVDs and Risk Checklist so you can educate your clients and help them to reduce their risks. Soon these DVDs will be available in Italian, Cantonese, Russian and French! You can also borrow a portable DVD player
Please go login to e-learning and watch the two videos ―Safety Starts with You‖ & ―Safety with Lifts and Transfers‖
Completed viewing the videos?
Fires and Falls Prevention
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Easier Work & Improved Client Care Customized Care Plans – on your PDA We are phasing out the use of the yellow flow sheets. All new clients and clients who receive an interim visit from a CCM will get an update care plan that is in Goldcare and which will show up on your main appointment screens of your device. This means you will no longer need to complete a flow sheet and can checkoff the main tasks you completed for the client right from the appointment screen. You will still want to enter a progress note and safety note if the client has changed. As well under the client tab on your device will be a readable copy of the full client care plan. Stay tuned for more information!
100% Electronic Client Records By January 1 2014, we will no longer be leaving documents with client personal information in the home. There will be a communications log for you to communicate to family and other service personnel, what you did and what happened during your visit or any special instructions you need to leave. Everything else will be inputted into your PDA and immediately uploaded to the clients electronic record. Using Email to Improve Communication Now that everyone has a PDA, we can rely more on our email communication and less on ‗paper‘ faxing and voice messages. Here are a few ways you can use your email.
If you took a course (CPR, First Aid, other education). Take a picture of your certificate and email it directly to Reian Shand for uploading into your record You can email in time-off requests for vacation, or leaves of absence, etc. Your Coordinator will complete the time off request form for you and staple your email to the request as proof. The coordinator will confirm your request was approved and email you back confirmation. You can view your upcoming appointments 2 days into the future. So look ahead and email your coordinator if there is an error or missing appointment. This way they can make the change and confirm your PDA is correct well in advance. Don‘t leave it to the last minute to call your coordinator to correct your schedule! Remember if you are sick or need to book-off YOU MUST CALL the office and speak to someone live!
November and December Team Meetings Don‘t miss out on attending your November/December Team meeting. Carol Fitzpatrick, Director of Client Services or Barb van Maris, Director of Quality Improvement and Risk Management will be making a presentation on the changes we are experiencing in homecare. The focus will be on how to keep you and your clients safe, privacy and confidentiality and the new skills needed. Please see the Education / Team Meeting Calendar insert for Team Meeting dates and times.
Bring all suggestions you have to your team meetings , PSW Council , employee surveys or this newsletter. Your input is invaluable
Team Meetings
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Education certificates - info cards- completion notes etc. are the responsibility of the PSW to retain and present when necessary.
PSWs will get correspondence on a new client via PDA. If you have accepted a shift or have an ongoing client, and the shift does not appear on your PDA you must contact the office to clarify. Do not wait until after-hours to verify a shift.
If your PDA does not show your schedule, call the office for your schedule. If for any reason you cannot use your PDA to confirm your visits your backup is always telephony. Continue with your schedule using telephony to confirm your visits and leave Fatema / CCC a message about your PDA. *NEW* You can also listen to voicemail #7575 for PDA instructions.
If you need supplies, you MUST give the office 24hrs to have them available to you. Please leave your CCC a message. Or you can send Rose an email only to order supplies. Email Rose at rosalie.rodrigo@prefhealthcare.com and add ―supplies‖ in the subject line.
Linda Flowers Dec. 3rd
4:00-6:00
Linda McKellar Dec. 4th
2:00-4:00
Amy Chan Nov. 20th
4:00-6:00
Martha Wysocki Dec. 12th
2:00-4:00
Amy Chan-Thornhill Dec. 5th
2:00-4:00
Sophia Miller Nov. 27th
2:00-4:00
Nora Conrad Nov. 20th
5:30-7:30
Anne List Nov. 28th
6:00-8:00
You can attend any team meeting, 3 are mandatory a yea r Director of Quality Improvement and Risk Management & Director of Client Services will be attending Nov/Dec meetings to discuss upcoming changes
HELPFUL PHONE NUMBERS Payroll, Vacation Althea Younger 905-477-4006 ext. 2096 PDA Issues Fatema Alloo ext. 3272 Benefits, Orientation, HR policies: Christina Rizek ext. 3250
Regular office hours are from 8 AM – 9 PM, 7 days a week, including holidays. These are the hours when a Client Care Coordinator is present in the office to assist with your calls. Remember to call the office for non-urgent issues prior to 9 PM each evening. Our CCC‘s leave at 9 PM and only urgent calls are forwarded to the Client Care Managers or Director of Client Services. Know where you are going the next day. Calling for directions should not be left until after 9 PM. Calling for inconsistencies in your schedule for the next day should not be left until after 9 PM and should not be an urgent issue. Atter hours and you are sick? call 905-771-2766. These calls are forwarded to the answering service. The Client Care Manager can then call your early morning clients. Highlights from the Award of Excellence 2013 will be in the next newsletter Let’s keep our fingers crossed that our PHCS PSWs take home top honours!