L. to R. Ronnie Cleveland and his mother and PCA Terry Cleveland
Keeping it in the Family With Coastline's PCAM Program
By Abrah J. Salk
The Clevelands are a warm and loving family that works together. Ronnie, 55 years old, is disabled and cannot bathe, dress, or put himself to bed due to a diving accident that occurred when he was just 16 years old. Four years ago Ronnie became worse and had a terrible fall and sustained a head injury. After that, it became impossible for Ronnie Cleveland to continue to live on his own. So at the young age of 51 he was faced with moving into a nursing home. However, his mother, Terry, wouldn't hear of that. She believed that families need to take care of each other. Through St. Luke's and then Ronnie's rehab, Terry heard about Coastline's PCAM program, or Personal Care Attendant Management Program. This program is for people who want to self-direct their own care. They assume the responsibility for hiring their own personal care attendants (PCAs) to meet their specific care needs. Coastline Elderly Services, Inc. instructs the people/families on all aspects of the program so that they will be able to manage the program independently. Through Coastline, Mass Health and Cerebral Palsy of Massachusetts, the PCAs get compensated for their work.
Originally, a PCA could not be a parent (On March 1, 2006, the guidelines were changed allowing a parent to be a PCA for a non-minor child). So Terry was Ronnie's surrogate – she was the person that managed his care. But she had to hire someone else to be his PCA. Keeping it in the family, she hired her granddaughters to come in a few hours a week to bathe, dress, and help Ronnie. This extra money was great for the girls who were going to school. It helped to pay for their books and other needs. However, Terry was still doing a lot of the work and care for Ronnie, and Terry and her husband Donald were just surviving on the income they had. Then in March when the guidelines changed, it made all of the difference for the Clevelands. Donald became the surrogate and Terry became the PCA. This way she was now getting compensated for all of the care she was already giving to Ronnie. “Getting paid – it's a real blessing", Terry said, "The (PCAM) Program is a wonderful thing for someone who needs outside help.” Now that Terry qualifies as a PCA it's even better. The Clevelands remain a tight family. With the PCAM program, they all continue to work together and help each other out.
The PCAM program at Coastline helps out a lot of people who need physical help and want to manage their own care.
The program is open to Medicaid eligible consumers, regardless of their age. After being referred to Coastline, an initial visit is made by a PCA Skills trainer. The skills trainer meets with the consumer and explains the program and also does an informal assessment. Then after that, a visit is done by a nurse and an occupational therapist. Upon their recommendations, Mass Health decides if the consumer is eligible for the program and approves the weekly hours for the PCA. The PCA skills trainer then returns for two more visits, about a month apart. During these visits the skills trainer goes over submitting all of the paperwork to Cerebral Palsy of Massachusetts – they are the fiscal intermediary that manages the paperwork and money for Mass Health. The skills trainers then follow up with the consumers regularly to make sure that everything is going smoothly.
The Clevelands all agree that “The PCA Program at Coastline is really great”.
This is only one of many success stories of the PCAM program. To learn more about this program or any of our other wonderful programs, please contact Coastline Elderly Services, Inc. at (508) 999-6400.
