What are Personal Support Services?
Personal Support Services are designed to assist elderly and adults with disabilities to remain safely in their homes. We work closely with the client and their families to develop an individualized care plan that identifies the specific tasks that must be completed each visit. Routine visits are made to review the care plans and adjust, according to the client’s needs. Services are available to clients eligible through State of Maine section 63, Medicaid Waiver section 19, PDN section 96, as well as individual private arrangements.
Home Hope and Healing will provide person-centered care through:
- Encouraging client participation in decision making.
- Working with the client/family to develop a plan for services based on the client needs as well as the needs identified by the assessing agency.
- Working with the care coordinating agency to ensure communication and a well-coordinated service plan.
- Providing high caliber, credentialed personal support staff.
- Providing care that is respectful and responsive to our clients.
A Personal Support Specialist (PSS) is someone who:
Provides ADL1 and IADL2 personal care services to a client in their home. The PSS has completed an approved training course, which includes but is not limited to instruction in basic personal support procedures, first aid, handling of emergencies and review of the mandatory reporting requirement under the Adult Protective Services Act.
A PSS is assigned to a client’s care after a successful “meet and greet” and both the client and PSS agree to proceed. Each client has their own care plan, which is a guide to the care services assigned, and the PSS will receive a copy of their plan before providing care. Every 90 days, we go out to the client’s home to do a home visit to see how the care plan is going.
Some other tasks that a PSS may help with are: prompt clients to take medications and make doctors appointments, manage their household, manage their budget (including using the ATM), remind them when their bills are due, etc.
1. Activities of daily Living (ADL) are basic activities of self-care that are performed on a daily or frequent basis, and are necessary for independent living and may include: bed mobility, transfer, locomotion, eating, toilet use, bathing and dressing.
2. Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) are activities which support daily living but are not direct personal care. These may include: meal preparation, grocery shopping, laundry, light housekeeping and transportation.