Welcome to the First Edition of Caring Together
In this time of uncertainty, we acknowledge and thank all of you for your ability to quickly adapt to the large number of changes that we have had to undergo as an organization in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have done our best to communicate these changes to you in a timely manner, through our PSW Portal. These updates and resources will continue to be shared with you as soon as we can.
However, we also want to take the time to celebrate stories of inspiration and hope through Caring Together. This newsletter will be posted to the PSW Portal on Fridays, with the intention of ending each week on a positive note!
Our employees are doing some incredible things to continue to provide care to our clients, and we want to highlight these stories and share them across Circle of Care.
Volunteers Reach Out to Isolated Seniors
Due to pandemic restrictions, our Friendly Visiting and Hospice volunteers can’t visit their clients in-person at this time. Luckily, these clients won’t be facing the pandemic alone.
Our Volunteer Resources department quickly moved all these volunteers over to phone check-ins early last month. This ensured that our clients continue to hear from a friendly voice that they already knew.
In addition, our Phone Pals program was expanded, with overwhelming support from our volunteers from other programs, who jumped in to help us reach out to as many isolated seniors as possible.
Currently, we have 120 volunteers providing weekly calls to approximately 250 clients!
Recognizing Our Community for their Generous Donations of PPE
We have been incredibly grateful to receive donations of Personal Protective Equipment and hand sanitizer from numerous organizations and individuals in our community.
At at time when PPE and sanitizer are scarce and challenging to find, these donations are helping us to continue to provide our PSWs, as well as other client-facing staff and volunteers, with the equipment they need to protect themselves and our clients from potential infection.
In particular, we would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their donations:
- Ronnell Gangapersad and Remesh Kanapathi from Green Technology Durham Distribution
- Toronto China Bible Church and West Toronto Chinese Bible Church
- Barry Weighell from International Workplace Group
- Harriette Brown from Neuro-Rehab Services Inc.
- Aaron Nisker from Wayne Safety Inc.
Celebrating our Champions of Care
- “On March 11, the client center experienced an unusual amount of calls from our PSWs as they were not able to log out of their phones. Ernestina Opoku demonstrated the meaning of team work and took it upon herself to stay in the client Center Queue and continue to take calls nonstop. She is a fantastic team player and I am proud to have her as part of our team. Way to go Tina!!!” – Sheonne Harris
- “I would like to recognize an extraordinary work of Diana Nazarov – Social Worker. One of Diana’s clients was offered a placement in a Long-Term care facility and his apartment had been vacated as a result. Another Diana’s client was looking for housing, as he was living in a shelter. Diana has advocated for the homeless client to move to the vacant apartment. Thank you Diana for your creativity and thinking outside of the box!” – Natalie Zabolotsky
- “This recognition of PSW Elisa Baguioso is long overdue. Elisa assists my father with bathing one day a week. She always arrives with a smile on her face and presents a positive outlook. Both my parents appreciate this. She shows exceptional kindness, caring and compassion. Any interaction I have with her is positive. She is willing to carry out care giving requests I ask of her. I am so thankful. After the bathing task is complete, the bathroom is left in a state of cleanliness which assists my Mom beyond words. I hope Circle of Care is aware of the “gem” of an employee they have.” – Client’s daughter
- “On January 25, PSW Merriam Costales arrived to her client’s house and found her client unconscious and not breathing. She immediately jumped into action and directed the caregiver to call 911 while she began CPR. After a little while the client started breathing on her own. Thanks to Merriam’s quick thinking the client was fine. Merriam, family members contacted Circle of Care to let us know how grateful they are for what you did. On behalf of your client, her family and Circle of Care thank you!” – Mendel Janowski
Message from CEO Carey Lucki to All PSWs
(from April 7, 2020)
For several weeks now, we have been living in a surreal state of existence that none of us could have predicted.
And yet, every day I am inspired to hear about and see many examples of the ways that our Circle of Care PSWs have stepped up and continue to provide care with a deep sense of dedication and commitment. You are truly showcasing the core of our values and you are a healthcare hero.
The City of Toronto, under the advice of its Medical Officer of Health, has announced unprecedented actions to stop the spread of COVID-19. I am encouraged that our city and our province are taking aggressive measures for the benefit of all citizens including the front-line staff of health care.
Organizations like ours are very much a lifeline during this pandemic. We know that our clients need us. And I am so proud of the work you are doing in the community to ensure that they can count on us.
I want you to know that your actions and hard work provide a constant source of inspiration for the senior executive team. We are working non-stop, proactively planning and constantly working behind the scenes to prepare us for what lies ahead. We are involved in every COVID-19 meeting/table/zoom teleconference on a daily basis, sometimes well into the evening. The demands on hospitals, the community, long term care and health care providers will continue to grow and we are acting with urgency to prepare for this phase of the pandemic.
We are in this together, and we couldn’t have come this far already without the effort of each and every one of you. This pandemic is far from over yet, but I want you to know that Circle of Care is here to support you through this. We communicate with you regularly through our PSW Portal and through All-Calls like this one, to provide you with information and guidance as we make our way through this challenging time.
Please be aware that we always follow the latest advice regarding PPE and other best practices to keep you safe in the community. If you are seeing clients who may have symptoms, please know that wearing full personal protective equipment and practicing effective hand hygiene will protect you.
Thank you, once again, for being such a valued and committed employee of Circle of Care. We are so lucky to have you on our team.