What are the responsibilities and job description for the Personal Care Assistance( PCA)- Blackduck position at Home at Heart Care?
1. Activities of daily living (ADLs)
A PCA worker may assist the person with the following ADLs:
• Dressing – Including application of clothing and special appliances or wraps
• Grooming – Including basic hair care, oral care, shaving, basic nail care, applying cosmetics and deodorant, care of eyeglasses and hearing aids
• Bathing – Including basic personal hygiene and skin care
• Eating – Including completing the process of eating, including hand washing and application of orthotics required for eating, transfers and feeding
• Transfers – Including assistance to transfer the person from one seating or reclining area to another
• Mobility – Including assistance with ambulation, including use of a wheel chair; not including providing transportation
• Positioning – Including assistance with positioning or turning a person for necessary care and comfort
• Toileting – Including helping person with bowel or bladder elimination and care. This includes transfers, mobility, positioning, feminine hygiene, use of toileting equipment or supplies, cleansing the perineal area, inspection of the skin and adjusting clothing.
2. Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)
A PCA worker may assist an adult with the following:
• Accompany to medical appointments
• Accompany to participate in the community
• Assist with paying bills
• Communicate by telephone and other media
• Complete household tasks integral to the PCA services, such as:
• Plan and prepare meals
• Shop for food, clothing and other essential items
A PCA worker may assist a child with IADLs when:
• Immediate attention is needed for health and hygiene reasons integral to the personal care services and,
• Assessor has indicated this need on the service plan.
3. Observation and redirection of behaviors
• A PCA worker may observe and provide redirection to the recipient for episodes of behavior needing redirection as identified in the care plan.
4. Health-related procedures and tasks may include:
• Assistance with self-administered medications
• Interventions for seizure disorders, including monitoring and observation
• Range-of-motion and passive exercise to maintain a person’s strength and muscle functioning
• Tracheostomy suctioning and services to a person who uses ventilator support
• Other activities within the scope of PCA services that meet the definition of health-related procedures and tasks.
An individual who is employed as a personal care assistant must meet two sets of requirements.
1. Employment requirements
An individual who is employed as a personal care assistant must:
• Be 18 years of age or older.
• Be employed by a PCA provider agency.
• Initiate and clear a criminal background study.
• Enroll with the DHS as a PCA once all employment criteria are met.
2. Requirements specific to providing services
An individual who is employed as a personal care assistant must:
• Effectively communicate with the person and the PCA provider agency.
• Be able to provide covered PCA services according to the person’s PCA care plan.
• Respond appropriately to the person’s needs.
• Report changes in the person’s condition to the qualified professional.
• Maintain daily written records including, but not limited to, time sheets.
• Complete training and orientation on the needs of the recipient.
• Be supervised by the consumer or the qualified professional.
A person age 16-17 years old may be a PCA with the following additional requirements:
• Employed by only one PCA provider agency responsible for compliance with current labor laws
• Supervised by a qualified professional every 60 days
A personal care assistant may not be the:
• Paid legal guardian of an adult
• Legal guardian of a minor
• Parent or stepparent of a minor child recipient
• Recipient of PCA services
• Responsible party of a recipient
• Spouse of a recipient
A PCA is limited to providing and being paid for up to 275 hours per month of PCA regardless of the number of recipients being served or the number of PCA provider agencies enrolled with.