Inside the Circle – May 17, 2022

A few months ago, you had the opportunity to participate in our Safety Culture survey. This survey found that some of our staff do not feel comfortable reporting mistakes and errors because they feel they are blamed or that they could lose their jobs. We want to hear more about your experiences as a team member at Circle of Care, especially when it comes to reporting incidents, mistakes or risk events and feeling blamed. You have the power to contribute toward positive changes at Circle of Care and we encourage you to be open and honest with your feedback. Your participation is voluntary, feedback will be kept private and confidential, we will never share your name and you will not be punished in any way for sharing your thoughts. The survey will take you about 10 minutes to complete and you have until May 31^st to do so. At the end of the survey, you will be given an opportunity to have a further conversation with us to share your thoughts and ideas. If you chose to do this, your feedback will still remain confidential and anonymous.

We are pleased to welcome the following Personal Support Workers to Circle of Care:

• Emrin Nacino
• Julia Monteith
• Keisha Khani
• Kerifa McLeoad
• Roderick Reyes

Congratulations to this week’s Champions of Care nominees:

• “I had a ride with an iRIDE driver named Donna Brazeau; she is a wonderful lady and I enjoyed going with her and coming home. She came to pick me up from my home and then picked me up at the Women’s College Hospital. She made sure she was early and I was happy to see her. She is a great asset to your company and you should be proud of her. If I could use her again I would.” – iRIDE Client
• “Our mother has Parkinson’s disease and has difficulty with mobility (she requires a wheelchair). She receives support from PSW Rita Adhikari. On behalf of our family we want to acknowledge Rita – not only for her hard work and professionalism, but also for the diligence, caring, and empathy that she shows towards our mother on a daily basis. Rita always comes in with a smile and a warm greeting. She patiently attends to my mother’s needs and has developed a trusting and warm relationship with her. Our mother also suffers from anxiety and with Rita she feels safe and recognizes that she is in very good hands. Each day brings on new challenges for our family and with Rita’s help we are managing to keep our mother at home. Rita goes above and beyond her role. She confronts difficult situations with ease and confidence and is able to put things in perspective. This helps tremendously with the stress level of the family caregivers. We are so very thankful and fortunate to have Rita supporting our mother. She is a gift to our mother and our family and is truly a very special person.” – Client’s family member
• “Thank you Tara Stickwood for all your work! Thank you for being here for us all. Thank you for being the soldier on the front line, no one made you choose this, you chose it because you’re an amazing human and because you care and want to help. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart!” – Client/Client family member
• “Thank you Josie Medranda for the amazing day and shift on May 11. Many challenges were faced that day including the computer connections being slow and lots of staff from HPG left from previous days. Josie took initiative to support with entering data for all five new clients. Josie was on top of all her work as well as being supportive and was very patient with explaining and helping me when required, and when I faced difficulties with my computer. I would like to thank Josie and complement her on her exceptional work ethic and for being a great team player and support. She is an amazing friend and good coworker. I look forward to continue working with Josie in the future.” – Valentina Burman

April Showcase: Know When to Report Abuse

According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, approximately 1.5 million older adults living in Ontario experience elder abuse. Elder abuse can have serious consequences on the health and well-being of older adults and must be reported immediately when abuse has been witnessed or warning signs are identified. Circle of Care is committed to identifying and reducing the risk of elder abuse for all of the clients we serve.

Earlier this month, PSW Merlie was providing service to a client alongside a private caregiver. Merlie witnessed the private caregiver respond to the client with unnecessary physical redirection that made Merlie uncomfortable. The same day, Merlie shared this concern to the client’s HCCSS Case Manager who was present in the building. By doing so, Merlie demonstrated that she understood that what she had witnessed was a warning sign for abuse and that her first priority was the client’s safety. Since she reported this concern, the Case Manager was able to follow-up quickly to ensure that the client was safe and that the concerns were addressed.

Lessons Learned:

• Although Merlie reported the concern to the HCCSS Case Manager, she did not report to her CSS until a few days later. It is important to ensure that the CSS is aware of all concerns involving clients immediately after the incident.
• Client safety is always our first priority. While it can be difficult to report allegations of abuse, our clients have the right to be treated with dignity and receive courteous and respectful care from all providers.

Warning signs for abuse can often be subtle actions. It is important for workers to report any behaviour that seems out of the ordinary so a proper investigation can be conducted

Last week, for National Nursing Week, we highlighted some of our RPNs/RNs and shared their day in the life as a nurse at Circle of Care. Their stories provide insight on what our nurses do at Circle of Care, and highlight a variety of roles that they take on at our organization including roles as Client Service Supervisors (CSSs) and Holocaust Case Managers . We are grateful for the knowledge, insight, and expertise they bring to their roles at Circle of Care!