CAREGIVING: I have actually been trying to write a song but this will be a tale about health aides. The word tale slipped out there but I think I’ll leave it since it beats me how all this state health assistance works. I keep thinking I understand the process and the terminology and rules but I only know what I think I know. In a previous post I mentioned how Kathy was approved for more services by Greater Springfield Senior Services (GSSSI). They were going to increase the companion sitter from 1.5 hours to 3 hours. They are also going to be providing an aide to help with showers and some home-making four one hour visits each week. And hopefully we will keep Dilcia for the two hours.
The companion aides come from Medical Resources, the agency that sent us Su (the extroverted Chinese caregiver/cook) and Ashley (she only made two visits). They both were great but quit their agency because they didn’t get paid enough. Then there were a few weeks when I thought someone would come but no one did. Jennifer at GSSSI called them and tried to straighten it out. The scheduler called two weeks ago and said she had someone to come on Thursday. I explained that we had an aide (Dilcia) from another agency and having two competing aides at the same time would be a fiasco (dueling vacuums?). She said that she could send someone on Wednesday. so we agreed to that. But when last Wednesday came around we waited and waited. Finally, I called Sharon and found out she had forgotten to tell the aide. So we skipped ahead until the next Wednesday.
On Wednesday Fran came as the new companion. It sure didn’t start out well. We had more snow overnight and it had started to rain. Kathy was having a stiff day plus I didn’t get her to the bathroom in time. And by the time I got the car out and parked down at the hardware store it was really too late to get the parking area plowed. I shovelled the slush as best I could and hoped the new aide would drive an SUV or a truck. No such luck. The phone rang and it was Fran. She had arrived but was stuck outside. Her car was hanging out in the street. We got her out and she drove around for a while as I shovelled slush in the rain. Eventually she circled back and was able to park.
I warned Fran, when she came in, that Kathy might not be able to handle three hours right away with a new person. But it worked out and she stayed two hours. She and Marty hit it off well. More importantly Kathy seemed to like her fine and feel comfortable. I think it helped that she is older than the other aides. Fran had moved here from New Jersey a few years ago. Her two kids are grown up and she decided to move closer to her sister. She likes Massachusetts better because it is more people and services oriented. She couldn’t afford health insurance down there but she can here. She talked to Kathy about her art on the walls and talked about some of the things she could do. I think Kathy started to relax when she said if “Kathy wants to take a nap, I always keep a book with me.” She can do cleaning, laundry or make a sandwich. She really isn’t certified to give personal care. But she said if she is here and someone needs to go to the bathroom she will do whatever…. So I feel pretty optimistic.