YMHDD

Personal Assistance

Personal assistance means assistance with normal personal maintenance and household care activities at the direction of the recipient of services, his/her family member or guardian, in accordance with an established Plan of Care. Personal Assistance services include attendant care, specified household chores, assistance with shopping appointments or other errands essential to community integration. The purpose of personal assistance is to provide necessary support for eligible people to meet their daily living needs and improve integration into the community.

Personal assistance services are described as follows:

 

1. Attendant Care Services:

 

a. Bathing in bed, in the tub, or shower;

b. Using toilet or bedpan;

c. Grooming: care of hair, including shampooing, shaving and the ordinary care of nails;

d. Helping recipient in transferring from bed to chair or wheelchair, in and out of tub or shower;

e. Care of teeth and mouth;

f. Changing bed linens with recipient in bed;

g. Helping with eating and preparing meals, including special therapeutic diets for the recipients;

h. Dressing;

i. Ambulation, indoors and out;

j. Escorting recipient to clinics, physician’s office, related medical therapies, recreation activities and/or other trips;

k. Assisting with medication that can be self-administered;

l. Assisting recipient with use of special equipment such as walker, braces, crutches, wheelchair, etc., after thorough demonstration by a registered professional nurse or physical therapist, with return demonstration until registered professional nurse or physical therapist is satisfied that recipient can use equipment safely; m. Assisting recipient in implementing physical or occupational therapy, or speech language pathology programs.

 

2. Household Chores:

 

a. Care of kitchen, including maintenance of general cleanliness of refrigerator, stove, sink, and floor, dishwashing;

b. Care of bathroom, including maintaining cleanliness of toilet, tub, shower, and floor;

c. Care of recipient’s personal laundry and bed linen (may include necessary ironing and mending);

d. Bed making and changing of bed linen;

e. Window washing;

f. Lawn cutting;

g. Putting out garbage;

h. Other necessary household chores related to Independent living.

 

3. Errand Services:

 

a. Routine errands for recipient such as picking up medication, picking up prepared meals, marketing, or any short trip to perform a specific task.