Welcome to Inside the Circle, a special weekly newsletter for Circle of Care PSWs and Homemakers published each Tuesday. This newsletter will bring you information and resources for your role working in the community with our clients.
Highlights from this Week
- News and Information
- Announcing our Spotlight Award Winners
- Holiday Season Office Hours
- Upcoming CPR Sessions
- Home Decorations Contest
- Reminder: Workplace Violence and Harassment eLearning (Paid Training Opportunity)
- Reminder: Performance Expectations and Safety Quiz
- Reminder: Completing Mental Health Training
- Wellness at Work
- COVID-19 Vaccinations: The Booster Shot & A Message from Carey
- Tips for Reducing the Risk of Community Violence
- Stay Safe this Winter
- Create Some Colourful Meals!
- Quality Spotlight – Client Medications
News & Information
Announcing our Spotlight Award Winners
Thank you to all the staff who nominated a PSW for our newly created Spotlight Awards. We received eight nominations on behalf of seven Personal Support Workers.
The Yvonne Greaves Award for PSW Leadership
The first-ever Yvonne Greaves Award is being presented to Maria Cundangan. Maria has worked at Circle of Care as a PSW since 2012. She is a Union Steward, a member of the bargaining team, an employee member of the Joint Health & Safety Committee, all while working 40 hours per week! Maria takes great pride in her work as a PSW and is always thoughtful and caring with her clients. She is passionate about working at Circle of Care and strives to be a role model for her colleagues.
“Maria is very connected to her PSW peers and is able to voice the needs and concerns of our PSWs to both the JHSC and union representation,” said Kai Svirida. “She strives to make our workplace better and works to ensure our PSW staff have the supports necessary to do their jobs well.”
The Circle of Care Award for Home Care Excellence
The first-ever Award for Home Care Excellence is being presented to Gina Macaspac. Gina does not shy away from the challenge of learning a new skill or dealing with complex needs clients. Gina has been a big help to Circle of Care with her flexibility and willingness to work outside of her regular hours to ensure clients’ needs are met regularly. Gina is instantly missed by clients whenever she has to take time off.
“In one case, Gina willingly took on a client that we were struggling to find care for. This client is a paraplegic that has complex needs including catheter care, bowel routine, and exercises. Their schedule is time-specific and needed to be regular,” explained CSS Mae Janer. “Gina has been volunteering to work outside her schedule every other week to ensure this client receives consistent quality care. The client and family have been so thankful for Gina and often compliment and share how she has been a godsend to them.”
Congratulations to Maria and Gina as our inaugural Spotlight Award winners!
Holiday Season Office Hours
Please note that our head office (4211 Yonge Street, 4th Floor) and the ADP (1600 Steeles Ave W.) will be closed or close early on the following days:
December 24th, closed at noon
December 27th and 28th, Closed
December 31st, closed at noon
January 3rd, closed
If you are planning on picking up supplies over the coming weeks, please keep these closures in mind.
Upcoming CPR Training Sessions
Circle of Care requires that all PSWs and Homemakers be certified with valid and current CPR training. Circle of Care has begun to secure some dates for CPR recertification, and we would ask that anyone who has an expiring CPR certification to sign up for one session. To learn more about upcoming sessions in January and February, click the link below.
Celebrate the Holidays with our Home Decorations Contest
To celebrate the holiday season, we are holding a special contest for our Personal Support Workers and Homemakers! Whether you’re celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or another holiday, everyone is invited to take a photo of their decorations!
Vote for your favourites below, The top 4 photos will receive a gift card worth $50!
[yop_poll id=”4″]
Reminder: Workplace Violence and Harassment eLearning (Paid Training Opportunity)
Circle of Care has launched our annual eLearning course on workplace violence and harassment. This paid training opportunity is available to you on the Dayforce Learning App and accessible via the Dayforce website: Dayforcehcm.com. You can use the below PDF to assist you in logging in. Your credentials will be the exact same as when you login to the standard Dayforce App (to view your pay stubs).
The deadline to complete the courses is February 7, 2022.
Reminder: Performance Expectations and Safety Quiz
Want a chance to win a gift card up to $25? Correctly answer all the skill-testing questions on our survey and you will be entered into a raffle to win 1 of 12 gift cards! All answers can be found within the PSW Portal or by speaking to your supervisor.
The deadline to submit your answers is December 17th, and the winner will be announced on December 22nd!
Reminder: Completing Mental Health Training
This is a reminder to complete your eLearning courses on Mental Health. This paid training opportunity is available to you on the Dayforce Learning App and accessible via the Dayforce website: Dayforcehcm.com. You can use the below PDF to assist you in logging in. Your credentials will be the exact same as when you login to the standard Dayforce App (to view your pay stubs).
The deadline to complete the courses is March 31, 2022.
Coming Up Soon…
DECEMBER
Dec 26 – Jan 1: Kwanzaa
Dec 27 & 28: Statutory Holidays for Christmas & Boxing Day (Office Closed)
JANUARY
Jan 3: Statutory Holiday for New Years Day (Office Closed)
Current Career Opportunities
We are currently hiring a Russian Speaking Social Worker. If you think that you or someone you know would be a good fit for this role, we invite you to apply at your earliest convenience.
Champions of Care
“Alicia Jiang has gone above and beyond what has been requested of her in many meaningful and substantive ways to ensure that the WALKME inline learning instructions are properly documented and built into the application for ease of use. She has spent a considerable amount of time with UAT and BAT so as not to compromise the quality of the application. Because of her effort, the team was able to have a successful pilot launch of the volunteer APP. We recognize and appreciate her contributions. Thank you, Alicia!” – Christine Jones-Barclay
Wellness at Work
COVID-19 Vaccinations: The Booster Shot
If you have received a booster dose, you can download your updated vaccine certificate with official QR code or visit https://covid-19.ontario.ca/get-proof/ to learn how to get your enhanced vaccine certificate. Make sure to save and submit your proof of vaccination to HRDept@circleofcare.com. Once you have submitted your booster information, you will receive an additional 1 hour of paid time. This will be added to an upcoming pay with the code ‘vaccine payout’.
Tips for Reducing the Risk of Community Violence
To reduce the risk of an external assault while travelling to and from client homes throughout the day, follow these tips:
- Be aware of your surroundings at all times – make sure to walk and park your car in well-lit areas. Keep your eyes up, and don’t look down at your cell phone.
- Know the area that you are visiting – map the area before visiting the client’s home. If you are going to a client that you are unfamiliar with, plan out your route in advance and make sure you are sticking to main walkways and intersections.
- Pack ahead of time – plan and take only the items that you will need for your visits scheduled for the day. Leave any valuables or personal items in your car trunk, or leave these at home.
- Once you are in your vehicle, lock your doors and make sure your windows are rolled up. While driving, if you suspect that you are being followed, note the car’s license plate number, and go immediately to the nearest police, fire, or service station. Do not leave your car, but honk your car horn until someone responds.
- Keep your cell phone close by and handy – call 911 if you ever do not feel safe. Report any incidents to your Supervisor, Manager or Human Resources.
Create Some Colourful Meals!
For healthy eating, select a mix of colourful vegetables and incorporate these into your meals each day. Your vegetables can be fresh, frozen, canned or juiced.
Quality Spotlight
November Showcase: Client Medications
Medications are often an important part of keeping older adults healthy. In many cases, clients are able to manage their medications independently or with support from family. In other cases, Circle of Care workers may be asked to remind clients to take their medications and supervise them while they do so as part of the client care plan.
Careful attention to client’s medication and prompt reporting is important in ensuring client safety. On November 7th a client told PSW Florabelle Sardanas that they had mistakenly self-administered 2 doses of their medication instead of one.
Florabelle quickly called the office to report the risk and checked in with the client throughout her visit to ensure the client was feeling okay. Due to Forabelle’s prompt actions, the family was notified by Circle of Care, they were able to contact emergency services immediately and emergency services determined that the client would be okay and just needed to rest. Because Florabelle called DURING her visit and IMMEDIATELY after client told her about the medication mix up, Florabelle was instrumental in the client’s safety.
Lessons Learned:
• Immediate reporting is the best way to ensure clients receive the care and support they need – do not wait!
• When you are assigned the task of medication reminders for a client, medications must be in labeled blister packs and client should only take pills from the correct day and time to reduce confusion.
• If a client refuses to take their medication you must report this to the office immediately.
• If client’s medication for the day and time is missing from the blister pack, do not allow client to take other meds from a different day and time and phone the office immediately for further instructions.
Monthly Recommends
Book
Think Again, by Adam Grant
In Think Again, Adam Grant challenges us to become alright with not knowing, being wrong, and rethinking our own conventional wisdom.
Podcast
On Being, with Krista Tippett
Groundbreaking Peabody Award-winning conversation about the big questions of meaning — spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and the arts.
Movie
Happy – A Documentary
Filmmaker Roko Belic travels to more than a dozen countries, searching for the meaning of happiness.
Ask Us Anything
We invite you to submit your questions below. Please note that it may take us longer to provide some answers, so if you’ve asked a question that hasn’t been answered yet, we will get back to you in the coming weeks.