Newsroom

CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA'S ELDERLY POPULATION REMAINS INDEPENDENT WITH THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING'S ATTENDANT CARE PROGRAM The Center for Independent Living is committed to providing the best possible attendant care services for the elderly.   Living independently is a luxury that many Central Pennsylvanians enjoy. Unfortunately, for some members of the elderly population daily tasks like driving, cooking, dressing themselves or even picking up the newspaper are difficult. Despite these challenges, many elderly people strive to contribute to their communities and live independently. With attendant care support, their goals become a reality. The Center for Independent Living, a nonprofit organization established to advance the rights of people with disabilities through the elimination and prevention of barriers, is committed to providing the best possible attendant care services. CILCP recently became an official Waiver provider, which expanded CILCP's existing Attendant Care Program. As a Waiver provider, CILCP can provide consumers with comprehensive attendant care services and ensure that they are receiving the assistance they need to remain independent. "In the past, we could only provide our customers with an overview of available Waiver programs along with guidance, support and direction regarding who to contact," Theotis Braddy, executive director of CILCP said. "As a Waiver provider, we can provide a more comprehensive service package to our customers." CILCP's Attendant Care Program provides a variety of Waiver options including the Aging, Attendant Care, Independence and OBRA Waivers. The Aging Waiver provides long term care services to qualified older Pennsylvanians living in their homes and communities. Under the Aging Waver, the CILCP offers personal care services, attendant care and home support. Included in the services offered are assisting a person to get in and out of a bed, wheelchair and/or motor vehicle; assisting a person to perform routine bodily functions such as health maintenance activities, bathing and personal hygiene, dressing and grooming; and eating, including meal preparation and cleanup. There are also ancillary services which include homemaker-type services such as shopping, laundry, cleaning and seasonal chores; companion-type services such as assistance with transportation, letter writing, reading mail and escort; assistance with managing finances, planning activities and making decisions. "Becoming an official Waiver provider was only the first step to offering comprehensive attendant care services," Margo Wright, Director of the Attendant Care Program for CILCP, said. "The focus now shifts to training our attendant care workers so they are fully educated and able to provide high quality service to our customers." A major benefit to the consumer is that CILCP Personal Care Attendants (PCA) are reliable and dedicated to their profession. "At the Center for Independent Living we want our consumers to trust that we will provide quality care. We want them to know they have the right to proper assistance and convenient service," Wright said. "We encourage our consumers to contact us with comments on service and attend regular meetings where they can share information with our staff and other consumers." According to Wright assuring reliable service starts with hiring dedicated Personal Care Attendants. "CILCP PCAs are consummate professionals who are dedicated to excellence. We make sure that we treat them with care and respect so they will pass that same type of service onto the consumer," Wright said. Among CILCP's PCAs is Angela Evans of Harrisburg. Despite having Multiple Sclerosis, Evans helps consumers with everyday activities like household chores, picking up medicines and running general errands for them. She says CILCP carefully considers the needs and abilities of both the consumer and the employee when assigning a PCA. "The Center for Independent Living matched me up with people who I could help," she said. "You can tell that they care about their employees and consumers." Although today Evans is able to walk with the assistance of a cane, three years ago she relied on a wheelchair. Through CILCP's Transportation Alliance she was able to find convenient and reliable transportation. Evans now works as a PCA with several consumers who have a variety of disabilities, including Cerebral Palsy. "I found out about the Attendant Care Program when I was using CILCP's programs. Once I became able to live independently myself, I wanted to do something to help others," Evans said. "This is my way of giving back." With two years experience as a PCA, Evans says the job has been a rewarding learning experience and that CILCP has provided support throughout. "If you have a question on how to handle a specific situation, you can contact them and someone is always willing to help you. Each person has different needs and CILCP can help you handle situations that you may not have experienced previously," she said. "It makes everything easier knowing there is a team to support you." The CILCP attendant care support team consists of a Quality Assurance Monitor, a full-time staff PCA, a full-time PCA planner and a training coordinator. In addition to having a comprehensive attendant care staff, CILCP holds quarterly meetings for consumers to express their comments and the challenges they face. Wright says that these meetings help CILCP maintain open lines of communication with the consumers and better meet their needs. "The quarterly meetings are a great source of information for our staff," Wright said. "They enable us to educate and train PCAs according to consumer needs." PCAs undergo 24 hours of training each year. They are trained in a variety of different areas including: fire and emergency safety, wheelchair operation and safety, medication and administration and identifying signs of neglect and abuse. "Our PCAs complete the required training regardless of how much experience they have," Wright said. "This way we ensure that they are kept up to date on the latest news, technology and services. Not only do they need to know how to assist them with regular activities, the PCAs must also understand how to handle emergency situations." According to Wright, consumers have been very pleased with the level of service provided by CILCP's Attendant Care Program. She says that consumers and employees have maintained strong professional relationships and sometimes a professional friendship as well. "Our attendant care workers maintain a very professional relationship with their employers, however, since they work closely together on a daily basis, there are some strong friendships formed," she said. To apply for attendant care services, consumers need to complete a Medicaid application, which is available at CILCP, County Assistance Offices, other Centers for Independent Living, hospitals and county human service agencies. For more information on available Waivers for the aging population or people with disabilities, or to inquire about CILCP's vast array of comprehensive services, please contact Margo Wright at 731-1900 or 1-800-323-6060 or visit www.cilcp.org. The Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania is a nonprofit, nonresidential organization established for and by people with disabilities and serves Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, Mifflin and Juniata counties. CILCP's vision is to empower people with disabilities to fully participate in all aspects of society. For more information on the CILCP contact Nathan Pigott at 717-975-2148 or via email at npigott@hersheyphilbin.com. Back to the Newsroom