Inside the Circle – July 25, 2023

For all staff participating in the Wellness Challenge, please remember to log your step count for the previous week. All step counts must be entered by 4:30pm on August 4^th. Challenge winners will be announced August 8^th.

*If you are having difficulties accessing the spreadsheet (you may need to access the spreadsheet using your personal mobile phone or device), please email Nasrin (nalam@circleofcare.com) with your step count for each week, and we will enter your steps on your behalf.

Listen, be flexible, and prioritize relationships over routine. Struggling with your mental health or living with a mental illness can be isolating. Sometimes symptoms such as social anxiety, panic attacks, low energy or being easily overwhelmed might limit the types of activities someone can do or places they can go. For others, the stigma of mental illness creates feelings of fear or embarrassment that affect how someone experiences life while struggling with their mental health. Being there for someone is about helping a fellow human, even if it changes up your regular routine.

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.

Appointments must be booked through our vendor, First Aid Care, and can be booked via phone by calling 905-272-9214, or book online by clicking the button 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.

We are pleased to welcome the following new PSWs & Homemakers to Circle of Care:

• Rachael Adedijo
• Fatiha Mountassir
• Amalia Lopez
• Angee Silva
• Allison Clarke
• Ancy Allwyn
• Shilpa Devasia
• Godpwer Moses
• Rhoda Barona
• Akingbade Olufunke
• Nikita Khawas
• Navneet Navneet
• Eleanor Aranas
• Jahmelia Bennett
• Rogelyn Corpuz
• Meshwa Chaudhary
• Cindy Egam
• Mary Ann Dimatera
• Franielyne Gem Ramos
• Oghogho Oboh Thompson
• Wing Man (Sally) Wong
• Florence Dumlao
• Abdulla Ngwali
• Rajani Pichikari
• Tatiana Lopez Beltran
• Erwin Sediono
• Cornelia Tsiwah

Circle of Care is proud to offer discount tickets to this year’s CNE. Purchase your CNE tickets online with our corporate code and save! CNE Corporate rates are the lowest available. You will save off gate prices and retail partner prices too – up to 43% off in savings!

Click the button below to learn more

All PSWs and Homemakers are entitled to annual vacation under the Collective Agreement. Vacation time and vacation pay is based on length of continued service, calculated as of September each year. The following is a breakdown of vacation benefits:

Please note that the time you book off for vacation is not paid, as vacation pay is paid out on an annual basis in September. If you would like to request your accrued vacation pay to be paid out in advance, you can email payroll@circleofcare.com To submit vacation requests, please do so through the mobile app. All requests for vacation time will be reviewed by your Service Coordinator.

For any other questions about vacation time entitlement, please refer to the Collective Agreement.

When I click on the change availability link, it asks for worker ID and password for that. Who should I contact for that information?

To access the Availability form, you should go to the Portal link in your PSW app. Because the Portal is password protected, you would otherwise have to put in a password to see that information. However, by going to the Portal link in your app, you can avoid having to put in a password. Please note that you may experience some issues with the Availability form (and the Portal in general) at this time due to the technical problems that Circle of Care had last week. We are working to have the Portal fixed as soon as possible.

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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.