Inside the Circle – January 24, 2023

Please keep these important tips in mind when it comes to winter driving to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries:

• Pay attention – know where all vehicles are around you.
• Use winter tires for winter driving.
• Don’t be distracted by your phone or other electronic devices while driving.
• Don’t follow too closely behind another vehicle.
• When the weather conditions are bad, drive slower than the posted speed limit and remain cautious.
• Make a safe driving plan. Prepare for your drive by checking directions, weather, and road conditions before.

To reduce the risk of client aggression while with your clients, please keep these tips in mind:

• Be aware of your immediate surroundings – make note of any caregivers that may be in the home in addition to your client, or any pets that are in the home and should be secured while you are completing your client visit.
•  If you notice that your client is becoming aggressive or is having a change to their demeanor, stand outside of your client’s personal space. Keep a safe distance away from the client, and stand off to their side (not directly in front of them
• Position yourself in the client’s room in a way so that you can easily reach an exit. If your client becomes aggressive or violent, remove yourself from the situation and exit the area. Call Circle of Care to report the incident.
• Learn the early signs of escalating aggressive behaviour such as fidgeting, heightened breathing, or a flushed face. If you notice these warning signs, or if a client starts to become aggressive, try to remain calm, neutral, respectful and empathetic.
• Review the client’s file before your visit, and make note of when a client has a history of anger, aggression or abuse.
• Be aware of behaviours stemming from an ongoing condition and knowing when the client has a condition that may lead to unpredictable behaviour such as substance abuse, Dementia or Alzheimer’s.
• Use the ALC checklist to evaluate the client’s condition and communication with your Client Services Supervisor if you notice any changing conditions.

Reminder: you have been enrolled in a mandatory e-learning course for Workplace Violence and Harassment. If you have not yet completed the learning module, please access the course content through your Dayforce account. The deadline to complete this training is March 31, 2023.

Circle of Care requires that all PSWs and Homemakers be certified with valid and current CPR training, and that employees be properly fitted for N95 masks. Upcoming sessions for both CPR and mask fit have been booked for November. Appointments must be booked through our vendor, First Aid Care, and can be booked by calling 905-272-9214 or by clicking the button down below.

Important reminders – please read:

• Please arrive at the training session 15 minutes before the class begins.
• After you have booked your appointment, please speak to your Service Coordinator if you need any scheduling arrangements and have clients that you will need to be booked off from to attend the CPR and/or mask fit training. Please try to book a date/time where you do not have client visits scheduled.
• Your schedule will be blocked as ‘unavailable’ for you to attend the session. You do not need to use your phone to sign into the training.
• You will be paid a total of 4 hours for the training (CPR) and 1 hour for mask fit – this will be added to your schedule 1-2 weeks after the session has been completed and you will receive payment. The code will appear on your paystub as ‘Miscellaneous’
• All bookings/cancellations must be managed through the online portal. You will receive a confirmation email/text notification and will also receive a session reminder.

We also encourage you to review our CPR Tips and Guidance below.

Circle of Care used to give us $25 gift card each year before the new year. Why we didn’t get a gift card this year?

Circle of Care has moved all of our gift-giving for staff to the Applause platform. All PSWs and Homemakers were gifted with 5,000 Applause points (equal to $50) at the end of the year as a thank-you for all of your hard work over the 2022 year. These Applause points can be redeemed for everyday household items, electronics, event tickets, gift cards from your favourite brands – such as Amazon, and so much more!
There are cases where a PSW/Homemaker has not received any points because they were on a leave when we did the points upload. In those scenarios, please reach out to HR at our department email HRDept@circeofcare.com and our HR team can sort this out for you.

When does our salary increase? By year or by the hours we worked? Thanks!

Circle of Care PSWs and Homemakers are unionized, which means that your hourly wage is dictated by the terms agreed to in the Collective Agreement. The Collective Agreement states that wage increases occur at the one year mark for both PSWs & Homemakers (and the two year mark for PSWs as well). We encourage you to read Appendix A from the Collective Agreement for more information.

Why doesn’t customer service answer our calls, especially if the client refuses a visit?

We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing difficulty with reaching someone live. We strive to answer as many calls as possible but at times we experience significant call volume increases. Circle of Care has a Call Center that is the first point of contact for field staff and can help process many inquiries before involving the service coordination team. We encourage all field staff to contact the call center as we typically answer calls within 90 seconds.
If there is an urgent issue that needs to be reported and you are unable to reach a call center representative, please contact your CSS to report the issue if it requires immediate attention.

I have been with Circle of Care for almost 7 years. I drive to my clients’ homes and the price of gas has double in price. Is it possible to increase our travel allowance? Thanks.

At this time, Circle of Care’s travel reimbursements will remain the same as what is stated in the Collective Agreement. Please refer to Article 22.01 of the Collective Agreement for more information. We continue to work with our industry partners to ask the government to subsidize or add a premium to our current funding. We will update you once we hear back from the government about our request.

We invite you to submit your questions or feedback 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.