April 16th, 2021 Message to All Staff

Hello everyone,

Please note below some reminders that involve COVID-19, the new “Shift Insurance” benefit, and scheduling. Thank you very much!

Patrick

COVID-19 Update

We all are very hopeful for times ahead where COVID-19 is less and less of a concern as cases drop and more people are vaccinated. However, for right now we are still being extra vigilant for the safety of all our clients, staff, and everyone’s families.

With that in mind, please remember you are still required to let us know of any COVID-19 exposures, including if someone in your household has been exposed, has symptoms, or is awaiting testing. This is still important, even as more and more people become vaccinated. Also, if you have received your vaccination, please feel free to let us know so we can add to your record here as well.

Shift Insurance Benefit

Guided Living’s new Shift Insurance benefit will offer additional stability to our caregiver team’s hours and earnings. If, for any reason, you have a shift that is ‘today’ or ‘tomorrow’ that is cancelled by the client, you will be guaranteed to be paid for those hours as long as you agree to be “on call” during that same time to take a different shift within a similar driving distance if needed.

If you prefer to not be “on call” during that time, that is no problem. However, you would not receive payment for the cancelled shift in that case.

If you have any questions, please reach out anytime any time. I am excited that we are able to offer this benefit to our team!

Shift Insurance Overview

  • If you have a shift that is ‘today’ or ‘tomorrow’ that is cancelled, you will be guaranteed to be paid for those hours.
  • A requirement to be paid Shift Insurance is that you are available “on call” for those same hours if another shift within a similar driving distance is offered.
  • If you prefer to not be “on call,” that is perfectly ok, but in that case, you would not be paid for those hours through Shift Insurance.

Scheduling Messages

If you see a message come through asking about availability for a shift, and you are unavailable, please send a quick message back to let the scheduling team know. That way, they will know to stop sending you messages for that shift. Those responses are very much appreciated as the team works to get the best schedule setup for both clients and caregivers. Also, please feel free to reach out and let scheduling know if certain clients are/aren’t a good fit or if your availability changes – that way they can be sure they are sending the shifts that are going to be the best fit for you. Thank you very much!

A Message About Self-Care During These Challenging Times

While we’re enduring the losses, threats, and deprivations of the pandemic and the disturbance and challenges of political division and a necessary reckoning with racism, we can embrace this time of trauma as a teacher. If we do, it can make us more healthy and whole, wiser and stronger than we’ve ever been, kinder and more committed to creating a world in which we care for ourselves and love one another.

James S. Gordon, MD ~ Founder ~ The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Free Self-Care App for Caregivers

Free App Description:

Caring for oneself is essential to navigate stress, avoid burnout, and improve our ability to be present in the moment and in our lives.

This is particularly true for caregivers: the humanitarian aid workers, healthcare providers, first responders, and others in caregiving roles that dedicate their lives to helping others, often at the expense of their own wellbeing.

This is why we created a free app, Care for Caregivers: Skills for Resilience through Meditation and Mindful Movement, which can support caregivers in need of rebalancing. It affirms their resilience and ability to thrive and recover from difficult situations, even in the face of acute and chronic stress.

The Care for Caregivers app provides eight guided meditations led by Sharon Salzberg and Gayla Marie Styles that you can watch any time, anywhere, and at your own pace, each between 5-6 minutes long.

Download for iPhone

Download for Android/Google Play

Self-Care Resource Articles

Tips to Manage Caregiver Stress

You can ease your stress with a few simple techniques that don’t take a lot of time. Try these methods to ratchet down the tension. Two-minute relaxation. Switch your thoughts to yourself and your breathing. Take a few deep breaths and exhale slowly. Then do a mental scan of your body to find which areas feel tense or cramped. Quickly loosen up these areas. Let go of as much tension as you can…

Emergency Responders: Tips for taking care of yourself

Responding to disasters is both rewarding and challenging work. Sources of stress for emergency responders may include witnessing human suffering, risk of personal harm, intense workloads, life-and-death decisions, and separation from family. Stress prevention and management is critical for responders to stay well and to continue to help in the situation. There are important steps responders should take before, during, and after an event. To take care of others, responders must be feeling well and thinking clearly.

You Can Take Care of Yourself in Coronavirus Quarantine or Isolation, Starting Right Now

Six things you can do right at this moment, along with some simple exercise equipment to get for your house.

Taking Care of Your Emotional Health

It is natural to feel stress, anxiety, grief, and worry during and after a disaster. Everyone reacts differently, and your own feelings will change over time. Notice and accept how you feel. Taking care of your emotional health during an emergency will help you think clearly and react to the urgent needs to protect yourself and your family. Self-care during an emergency will help your long-term healing.

Helping Children Cope with Emergencies

Regardless of your child’s age, he or she may feel upset or have other strong emotions after an emergency. Some children react right away, while others may show signs of difficulty much later. How a child reacts and the common signs of distress can vary according to the child’s age, previous experiences, and how the child typically copes with stress.

151 Self Care Ideas to Increase Mindfulness and Avoid Burnout

The best self-care ideas are self-care activities that resonate with you on a personal level. The best way to come up with a complete self care plan is to make a list of all the things you enjoy doing best for self care. However, many of us have forgotten what it is like to take care of yourself first.

Anne Lamont

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.

Jill Bolte Taylor

To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.

Jack Kornfield

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

Resource Websites

Caregiver Stress Coping | Care for the Elderly – Caregiverstress.com provides a free Stressmeter assessment, resources for families or spouses caring for an aging loved one including information about Alzheimers and Dementia, helpful articles about managing stress, and educational videos for families.

Tips and Help for Caregivers – DailyCaring – Practical tips that solve everyday challenges while caring for seniors. We help you Discover, Know, and Do

Connect2Affect – Social isolation has reached epidemic proportions and has a negative impact on our emotional and physical health. Are you or a loved one at risk for social isolation? Take this assessment to find out if you are at risk.

Personal Health Journals for Recovery, Cancer & More | CaringBridge – A CaringBridge website is a personal health journal, rallying friends and family during any type of health journey. Start a free CaringBridge website today.

Free Apps

Headspace app offers teaches the skill of meditation in just a few minutes a day. Find hundreds of sessions on physical health, personal growth, stress management, and anxiety relief. The Headspace app is available for Android phones and iPhones and has a 90 day free trial.

The Peloton app has thousands of on-demand classes taught by 30+ world-class instructors—guaranteed to get you energized. The Peloton app is available for Android phones and iPhones and has a 90 day free trial.

Happify’s science-based activities and games can help you overcome negative thoughts, stress, and life’s challenges. The Happify app is available for Android phones and iPhones.

A 5-Minute Meditation

A 1-Minute Meditation

Dalai Lama

If you feel “burnout” setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself.

Maya Angelou

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

Jean Shinoda Bolen

When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.

Anna Quindlen

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself