Inside the Circle – August 15, 2023

If you are experiencing any incidents of violence, harassment, discrimination and/or hate while at work or during working hours, please report this to your Supervisor, Manager, Director, or to Human Resources. If you would prefer to stay anonymous, you may fill out Circle of Care’s Anonymous Incident Form.

This form offers an opportunity to disclose your name to assist us in investigating your incident. If you’d prefer not to share your name, reported incidents will still be accepted and investigated, as appropriate. The form can be accessed here:

On the Portal, it is located on the home page under Quick Links.

Extremely hot weather can be difficult for everyone, but spending excess time outdoors travelling from home to home in the community in hot and humid conditions can put extra stress on your body. To be prepared and limit the risk for heat-related illness, please review these prevention tips:

• Stay hydrated by drinking water regularly throughout the day
• Wear light, loose clothing that allows for the evaporation of sweat
• Wear sunscreen with a good SPF to prevent sunburns
• Take breaks as needed, especially after completing a physical demanding task and if the client’s home does not have air conditioning
• Stick your hands under a tap with cold water, this will help to cool down your body temperature

Exciting news! We’ve updated our step-by-step guides to help you understand how to order supplies, request vacation time, and use our mobile app.

The updated guides can be found by clicking the button below.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee has cultivated a list of recommended books, podcasts, and other resources to enhance your learning on DEI related topics.

To view the list of resources, please click the button below.

We also have a DEI e-learning catalog in Dayforce, and employees are able to self-enroll in these courses.

Our Human Resources (HR) Team, has put together a Frequently Asked Questions blog post, and we encourage you to review this for your knowledge. Also included is key contact for HR team members, and SEIU stewards.

To view the post, click below.

If you have any questions for HR, please email HRDept@circleofcare.com

Some companies added a $3 government pay to the basic wage. Why can’t our company add the $3 to our basic wage?

Circle of Care does indeed receive the additional wage enhancement funding from the government, which we have added to our PSWs’ and Homemakers’ pay. Our PSWs and Homemakers receive the $3/hour additional pay increase on all completed visits. It is not provided on visits that are Not Seen Not Found or declined by clients.

I submitted new availability, but my supervisor didn’t approve it because of the lack of PSWs available in the evening. Why don’t they approve all our requests?

Our Client Services Supervisors carefully consider all requests to change availability in order to best meet both our team’s needs and our clients’ expectations. As you mentioned, there are typically a limited number of staff available to cover the evening hours. These hours are crucial for providing our clients with home visits, especially as so many clients require assistance with meal preparation for supper and/or getting ready for bed. Maintaining our service quality for these clients is of utmost importance to us, and you play a role in that too. We truly value your contribution to helping our clients with these important tasks.

And please be aware that your CSS and Service Coordinator will keep track of your request and will do their best to accommodate the request once another PSW is secured to take over your current clients. This may take some time, and we appreciate your patience.

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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.