By GRIFFIN BEERS, Solutions News Bureau
Josie Duncan* is a Rochester Hills resident and she loves what she does. She has found a job that provides help to those who need it most, and is passionate about her role. Working for NeuroCare Home Health has opened her eyes to the challenges people have to deal with, and she wants others to know what’s important when working with people with disabilities, especially in their own home.
Q: Can you please describe your role as a caregiver, and what it involves on a day-to-day basis?
A: I work for an insurance agency called NeuroCare Home Health, and the way I am employed is through the auto no-fault law in Michigan. Basically, anyone who was involved in an auto accident, and was not at fault, they are covered by this insurance agency. This means I am able to go in and help as an employee of the company, and not employed by the client. So the company finds people in the area who need help after sustaining injuries and sends me to work with them. I currently only work for one client and she has a spinal injury. She is basically paralyzed from the chest down, but still can use her arms, although she has limited mobility in her hands. I work night shifts, so at night I help with cooking, cleaning, taking care of her dog and we do her nightly routine. I’ll help with her chair-to-bed transfers and get her into nighttime clothes, and really just hang out with her.
Q: What is a specific issue, or major challenge, you face in your role? Are there others?
A: I think one of the major challenges is not really in the role itself but the laws and everything that go with them. [For example] My client needs home modifications done and she should be accepted by home insurance agencies to have her home better fit her lifestyle. She doesn’t have a functioning bathroom, or wheelchair accessibility around her home. One other challenge is the pay because funding for this program was recently cut massively. Many insurance agencies went out of business, and so clients were not able to get the care they needed, many were put into homes as a result. Fortunately, I was able to keep my job, although my pay was heavily docked.
Q: When you encounter this challenge, who do you turn to for help? What helps you respond to, or could potentially help with, this challenge?
A: I guess I could turn to government agencies for help, but it is hard to get people to care about your issues. People don’t really listen when it is not a major issue, even if clients are not getting the care they need.
Q: What kind of help do they provide? It could be financial, assistance with caring, or counseling services.
A: One thing that the company provides is counseling services if there are issues between me and the client. This kind of goes back to an earlier question but the worker and the client are not always the best fit, and the company has to intervene and either resolve the issues or change the service the client is provided with. Luckily, I have not had to encounter that issue.
Q: What things reduce the effectiveness of this kind of help? What would it take to overcome those limitations?
A: There is a lack of communication in what the client wants from me. It is hard to know how large of a role they want for me to have in their care. I used to work for someone who did not communicate exactly what they wanted from me so it was always a little confusing. That client was also not very open to having a relationship with me, and that is hard too. I’m being thrown into their lifestyle so establishing a connection can make the care so much smoother. That early relationship makes everyone feel more comfortable to discuss those issues.
Q: What do you want people to know about yourself, and caregivers in our community?
A: Providing care to someone doesn’t need to feel scary. Clients already have to deal with societal issues everyday because of their disability, so if you act scared of them or make them feel uncomfortable it makes them feel like an outsider. You just need to be open, everyone is understanding and people are willing to teach you new skills [in this job].
*Interviewee’s name changed for privacy reasons.