HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10111994 - MR.1 MR. 1 & MR.2
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
DATE: October 11, 1994 MATTER OF RECORD
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MR. 1 Kathleen Tate, 1571 Lexington Road, Concord, spoke on the
need to improve standards and controls for caregivers
providing services to the disabled.
MR. 2 Jim Hicks, AFSCME, spoke on the inability of a layed-off
County employee to be certified for employment to departments
having vacancies in that classification.
cc: County Administrator
October 5, 1994
Kathleen Tate
1571 Lexington Road RECEIVE®
Concord, CA 94520
OCT - 61994
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors CLERK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
651 Pine Street CONTRA COSTA CO.
Martinez, CA 94553
Dear Supervisors:
Enclosed is a copy of a letter that I wrote with regards to Dawn
Stark. I have sent it to the following persons:
Home Health Agency, Ms. Amy Gorman; Adult Protective Services,
Mr. Peter Koster; In Home Supportive Services, Ms. Carolyn
Dexter; Probation Department, Mr. Ron Afdel; Congressman
George Miller; State Senator Daniel Boatwright; State
Assemblyman Robert Campbell.
I do hope that someone will take some sort of action so that other
handicapped persons will not undergo the same problems.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Tate
��S
To Whom it May Concern:
I am the neighbor of a quadriplegic who at 32 years of . age has
Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits along with SSI. She currently has
a 19 year old live-in. care giver with whom I have observed many
problems. Because of this, I recommend that tighter control of
those persons who are being paid with public funds be maintained.
To that end, I recommend the following be adopted with examples of
the current situation.
1. All care givers in homes of quadriplegics where the client is
the only responsible adult (and there is no other legally
responsible adult available)., must be bonded._
ex. Money seems to disappear in this household. Food seems
to run out even though there, are food stamps. There isn't
enough money to do the laundry at a Laundromat.
2. Unless there is an emergency situation where care givers must
care for a relative in the client's home, friends and
relatives of the care giver should not be allowed during.
normal working hours. These same friends and relatives must
be off the premises no later than 10:00 pm.,
ex.. -The caregiver cares for a toddler (her godchild) during
working. hours. Adult friends and relatives of the care giver
appear on an all too frequent basis - day and evening. The
toddler has been heard_ crying- after midnight.. The adults are
.seen drinking on the premises - day and evening.
3. All care.givers must have an up to date medical certificate of
health just as restaurant workers do.
ex. This care giver is- supposed to cook for- and- feed the
quadriplegic client. Isn't it reasonable to expect that the
client will not be exposed to TB, AIDS, VD, etc.?
4. Homes in which care givers live with the client should be
inspected for quality of care at least once a month..
ex. The home of the quadriplegic in question smells of urine.
Dirty laundry is just thrown into a. closet. Medical supplies
are also just thrown into a. closet so that tracking usage and
timely reordering is not possible.. Clothes that have been
washed are not .folded and put away but are thrown in a pile
and develop mildew on the floor of a closed room.
5. All care givers must give an accurate accounting of the time
for which they are paid.. A log book should be kept.
ex. Unless asked to, the care giver doesn't offer fluids to
the client. The client is left to lie around without any
stimulation other than a TV which the care giver also watches.
If the client has a visitor, the care giver will turn up the
volume on the TV because the client and, visitor are
interfering with the care giver's TV viewing. (There are
times. when the client is gotten into her wheel chair, but not
every day. At those times the client goes off through the
neighborhood by herself. )
6. A copy of the care giver's contract. should be posted in a
prominent place so that inspectors can know what the care
giver is responsible for.
ex. When asked to see a. copy of the contract, the client said
that it was in a kitchen drawer. It was not found, but
paperwork that was supposed to have been filled out and
returned to government agencies was.
7. Care givers should. be given performance reviews through
interviews with the client (without the care giver present)
and through observationon site.
ex. This client believes that the type of care she is
receiving is the norm because that is what she has received in
the past and is what she is told she is to receive. she is .
happy to receive what she can and, is afraid to lose this small
amount of care.
8. All care givers should undergo a background investigation.
ex. The client must depend upon the care giver in the case of
a quadriplegic.. There. istoo much of a margin for abuse,
especially with the live-in care giver. This can be both
physical and emotional abuse.
9. If there is a health problem on site (client can't afford to
pay for laundry or garbage pick up) , the care giver should
report that to supervisors.
ex. This will provide an. information tracking system to
protect the care giver not just the client. This is a true
health problem and the neighbors could report it to the health
department and get the care giver in trouble. Just such a
situation is happening now.
10. Complaints from neighbors regarding problems should be
investigated immediately.
ex. Timeliness is important especially in possible. abuse or
health problem cases. It may also be wise to involve the
police department since in this case, the care giver's friends
all carry beepers and go out to cars that stop in front of the
client's house for very brief time periods.
11. The client must have access to transportation (public or
private). If the- care giver is contracted. to provide the use
of a personal vehicle, any change in the availability must be
reported to a supervisor.
ex.. To get laundry done, it is necessary to go to a
laundromat that is about 1/3 mile away. If the care giver
must walk., that is time away from the client when there could
be an emergency.
12. The client must have a telephone or have reasonable access to
one.
ex. Due to past phone bills accrued by a teenage daughter
(who is currently in Juvenile Hall) , the client is not able to
get a phone from the phone company - not even one that would
be .for local or "911" calls. What happens in an emergency and
all of the neighbors are unavailable?
.13. A Legal Representative for a quadriplegic should not be a
minor.
ex'. The 15 year old daughter who is in Juvenile Hall is the
person supposedly able to sign her quadriplegic mother's
signature on checks, time cards for the care giver, etc.
14. All live in care givers must have taken a current red cross
life saving course and have proof of such. It should be
renewed annually.
15. Agencies that give out names of possible care givers must make
some effort to determine whether these people are suitable.
Otherwise, the agencies should expect lawsuits.
ex. The agency that gave the care giver's name to the client
says that they get names. from people who just call and ask.
that their names be listed as possible caregivers. There is
no background check made...
16. In case of an emergency in the care giver's family, there
should be an agency to provide a temporary backup care giver.
ex. There wasan automobile:. accident. out of state and. the
care giver was needed. Although the care giver learned about
the accident on Friday AM, and the trip was postponed until.
the .following Tuesday, the care giver didn't know how to go
about getting a replacement for the time that she would be
gone. Instead, a.:male acquaintance of the client was asked to
stay with her and provide the care needed.. When the. care.
giver left, there were not enough clean sheets or clothes for
the. client to last-. until. the care giver.'s return day
(supposedly Friday, but in actuality .Saturday afternoon - the
client was not informed of the change in plans by the care
giver's mother who was supposed to "stop by to check on
things" per thecare. giver) . The male friend cooked meals,
and fed the client,. and turned her, but he couldn't figure out
that wet sheets needed to be removed. from under the client...
• .
He called on a. neighbor at 2 AM for help. He grudgingly hung
up clothes on a loaned rope after the neighbor washed some
necessities, buthe indicated. that he felt that he wasn't
being paid enough to fold the clean laundry and that it wasn't
his job.. What did he think the neighbor was getting?!
17. Care giving should be a career option, just as early childhood
education is. Care givers. should be. licensed as to their
related education, the typeof care they can give and whether
they are qualified. to live-in._ This will. provide a. means for
advancement in .this field and can be a career option that is
as desired as nursing... Perhaps it could be: part of an in-home
care section of a regular nursing program (earn while you
learn) .
I spoke to some visiting nurses. They told me that the above
examples are -not unusual - -it happens all the time.
Well, I don't want to believe that the people in- this country are
such uncaring bastards that they would allow such a situation to
continuewithout fighting for people who can_'t_care for themselves.
There have got to be laws that protect against such abuse —both to
this handicapped person and to our social. services system. With
the hope that someone in authority -will takeup the gauntlet I am
throwing. down, I. am. sending: thisletter: to Contra. Costa. County,.
State and -Federal. authorities. Someone if not all. of you must take
responsibility!.
sincerely,
Kathleen A.. Tate
1571 Lexington Rd..
Concord, CA 945.20
510-671-7579