Hello!
I’m looking for a part-time personal care assistant (PCA/CNA/LNA or equivalent experience) for approximately 10-12 hrs/week. I am a disabled female science educator/ musician and artist in my late-40s who uses a wheelchair. I don't have much use of my hands, so I need help with almost all aspects of my life and health at my home in Brattleboro. I also had a jaw injury last year which makes it difficult for me to talk, and I can only talk in small amounts at a time. So I do a lot of my communication via dictation/texting.
The schedule would be Saturdays and Sundays approximately 12:30 to 4:30, and one weekday daytime shift of 3 to 4 hours. We could talk about what specifics work for your schedule. You would be working as part of a team, and sometimes their schedules change, so that is why there is some schedule flexibility as we fit you into the team. Down the line, there is definitely a potential for this position to grow in size and take on more weekday responsibilities. The schedule does sometimes change as time goes on, my medical needs change, or other peoples schedules and availability change on the team. So flexibility to accommodate those changes is important. I try to keep the schedule consistent from week to week and month-to-month but there are inevitably changes. I would need you to occasionally sub on weekdays or evenings that you are not working for other PCA time-off or illness. This is usually with advance notice. Let us know your availability in your response, thanks! You would be joining a team of other PCAs who care for me. It's a wonderful team of skilled, caring people with interesting life experience, and my family is also involved in my care.
Personal care duties include: getting meals out for me (they are already cooked), light food prep such as cutting veggie sticks or making a salad, restocking/making inventory of ingredients in the kitchen, putting on compression stockings, helping me shower, helping with medical treatments that I do in my home, being able to drive my wheelchair vehicles, and occasional grocery shopping and errands.
Light housework duties include: loading and unloading the dishwasher, dishes, laundry, sweeping and vacuuming, cleaning as needed, etc. Helping to take care of my friendly cat.
Medical duties include helping me manage my recipes, tracking my nutritional requirements in an app, maintaining my medical equipment by cleaning it and changing filters, and doing simple medical treatments with me that we would train you on such as red light therapy.
I am looking for someone with healthcare/caregiving experience or experience taking care of a disabled person. You should be detail oriented, reliable, trustworthy, honest, caring, and a good communicator, with a clean driver’s license, and excellent computer and phone skills (with Macintosh laptop/iPad knowledge). I mainly communicate over text using dictation, so having your phone with you all the time is necessary. We can train you on medical details and the other aspects of the job. I try to make it a fun environment that is laid-back, where you can continue to learn new skills.
I'm looking for someone who is a proactive communicator and will let me know if they have questions, reach out to me for clarification, good at taking direction but also good at working independently, keep accurate notes that the rest of the team can understand, and keep me posted as to what is going on, so that I can rest and focus on my body and healing. I am also looking for someone who understands how chronic pain influences daily life and is good at maintaining a calm and supportive presence during periods of heightened pain.
My goal is to hire someone who would stay in this job for at least a year or longer, ideally longer than that/indefinitely, so that we can build a relationship. Starting pay is $24-35 per hour (based on experience), with the possibility for bonuses and raises over time. This is through a PCA program through my health insurance, so $14.75 an hour would come from my health insurance company and the rest I would pay you via PayPal. We pay above the going PCA rate because we do our best to pay people fairly within my limited resources. We follow COVID protocols and this is a safe working environment. I am vaccinated and you need to be as well. My caregivers wear masks in the home because I am immunocompromised.
Please respond telling us a little bit about yourself and why this job is of interest to you. Make sure to include the following information:
1. Your skills and interest in the various aspects of the position
2. Tell us about any prior caregiving, office management, and/or medical admin experience (a resume would be helpful)
3. Your vaccination/booster status
4. How far are you from Brattleboro? I am ideally looking for someone within 15-20 miles of Brattleboro who has a reliable vehicle that can handle in the snow.
5. Confirm that you have a valid drivers license and are comfortable driving an SUV-size vehicle. Confirm that you have reliable transportation and snow tires or 4 wheel drive.
6. Confirm that you are willing to commit to a minimum of a year (if the job is a good fit) and that a part-time job will fit your longer-term goals (I have hired several part-time people in the past, only to have them leave when they are offered full-time work, or change their life path).
7. Please tell us your availability. The job can begin within the next few weeks.
Thanks so much and I look forward to speaking with you!