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I live in the suburbs of Toronto and I often see PSWs walking to clients' homes from the bus stop. Not efficient at all in this part of the city!

I worked for a home care agency myself several years ago. And I would certainly not have wanted to use the transit system for work. The "per visit" rate we were paid would not have compensated for all that travel time.

OTOH I knew of a few occupational therapists who used transit or bicycles in the downtown core.
 
paradox3 said:
I worked for a home care agency myself several years ago. And I would certainly not have wanted to use the transit system for work. The "per visit" rate we were paid would not have compensated for all that travel time.
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Having worked at the back end, I feel quite safe in saying that part of the problem is that the per visit rate the CCAC/LHIN/HCCSS (yes, the name has changed twice in the time I've been working in the field) pays the home care agency is inadequate. Maybe that has changed in recent years, but when I was supporting a home care company in our group, that was certainly an ongoing problem. We still tried to do the best we could for the staff, even offering benefits to ones who worked more than a certain number of hours with us, but it was really not a particularly sustainable business model and our parent company finally sold them to another home care company, which then got taken over by yet another one. There's neverending talk of getting for-profit out of home care but I am kind of surprised that hasn't already happened naturally. The not-for-profit model is probably more sustainable, esp. if one wants to actually retain and properly compensate staff.
 
I was once on the receiving end of home care (dressing changes after surgery) but that was pre-CCAC and was done under Waterloo Region Home Care or something like that. It was a nurse and I am pretty sure she had a car.
 
The agency I worked for compensated us fairly I always thought. There were also tax breaks that came from being self employed i.e on contract.

But I had to work efficiently, that's for sure. I also had to be disciplined about work/ home separation because we basically worked from our homes.

I bought a large office desk (used) and put it in the basement for my work station. This helped a lot.
 
I went back to hospital work after doing home care for a few years. It always made me laugh when staff talked about picking up some hours with a home care agency when they retired. They usually thought it would be easy money.

Ha! Not so at all!
 
Mrs.Anteater said:
But from what I hear from a coworker, I am really badly needed, even if I can do less than what I normally do.
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Of course you are needed by the institution. AND you need your wrist to properly heal, so you are in good shape for the rest of your life. Do what's right for YOU - that's my best thought about this. No doubt once you go in, they will push boundaries & limits, and it will be hard to resist. Have seen it happen often.
 
Carolla said:
Of course you are needed by the institution. AND you need your wrist to properly heal, so you are in good shape for the rest of your life. Do what's right for YOU - that's my best thought about this. No doubt once you go in, they will push boundaries & limits, and it will be hard to resist. Have seen it happen often.
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Oh, yes, I have already been ask if I could work the weekend on my own, haha. When I said no, the same person agreed with me. Good try. I am too old for that.
 
paradox3 said:
Especially doing Phys med @Mrs.Anteater

All those transfers!
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Ah, thankfully, usually not my part to do and right now on modified duty, I simply can’t do hands on patient work. ( the questionnaire for work asks: can lift - full ability , -up to 10 lbs, 10-20 lbs. I can’t even hold onto a full large coffee mug. The ortho surgeon said” don’t lift too heavy”. I asked “ how heavy is too heavy”. He replied “ you’ll figure it out”.
 
I discovered today that I can dig, safely, as long as I don't overdo it. It took me most of the day to dig an Atwood-sized hole (and there were other things on today - Bible Study and a dentist appointment), but she's at rest now, and there was an oriental pot outside that had lost it's bottom, so a very appropriate container for a plant or small bush on top.

It's the first time I've had to dig myself. Dave always did the bulk of the work, although I always helped, and he had lots of space to work with. I haven't been by his old place since he died, but I know his cabin(s) are gone, but I don't know if they've started building. If they have, they probably think they've hit Pet Cemetery...between the two of us, and a few friends, we lost a fair # of critters over 25 years - at least 3 dogs, at least 3 cats.

This is the first time in my entire life from about age 3, when my family got our first cat (a crazy white domestic shorthair named Snowy), that I have slept in a house without a cat.
 
Mrs.Anteater said:
It depends how close the clients are. In Berlin, using your bike is often the most efficient way to get around, beating the need to find a parking spot.
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A common sight in the UK of my childhood was various health care people on bikes. Public Health nurses, Midwives, Chronic Care nurses etc. all travelled that way as it was cheap and efficient. I think the bikes were probably supplied as they were all the same and had safe places for hauling needed items.
 
And much of urban England is not terribly hilly, and weather conditions are largely temperate enough to safely bike most/all of the year, so it makes sense. The way most of Canada is laid out, not so much. And in your time, I suspect (and during my childhood when I visited there), if you wanted to go somewhere else, there was always a train. I had one uncle in the Lake District (I dunno how he ended up there; Dad's side of the family was slightly more geographically adventurous than Mom's, who go nowhere) who absolutely delighted in finding me the most complicated routes from Liverpool to Ulverston, usually involving several transfers. He loved trains.
 
BetteTheRed said:
And much of urban England is not terribly hilly, and weather conditions are largely temperate enough to safely bike most/all of the year, so it makes sense. The way most of Canada is laid out, not so much. And in your time, I suspect (and during my childhood when I visited there), if you wanted to go somewhere else, there was always a train. I had one uncle in the Lake District (I dunno how he ended up there; Dad's side of the family was slightly more geographically adventurous than Mom's, who go nowhere) who absolutely delighted in finding me the most complicated routes from Liverpool to Ulverston, usually involving several transfers. He loved trains.
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Plus it's the roads and area covered. I think cities here tend to be fairly large, area wise. They could be broken down into areas but that does mean having a starting/ending place nearby which could mean quite a few centres/city. Plus I know of roads where bikes aren't even allowed, not sure if all Canadian cities have them.
 
Good morning! With recovering wrists and going back to work, with home care workers and how they get from place to place, with burial of furry companions, and the myriad of other topics, the conversation should be lively! The coffee cart is up and running, come on in.

C(_)/ c(_) c\_/ c[_]
 
Good morning. I'm starting my day with ginger tea. Coffee will come later. The tea is extra fluid and is good when I'm taking my meds. My friend and I are getting pedicures this afternoon while the guys are golfing. We'll all have supper together tonight.
 
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