The BayPath Spotlight provides insight to on the vital services and programs at BayPath Elder Services, Inc. 

This month we are shining a light on our Personal Care Attendant program. 

What is the Personal Care Attendant Program?
A Personal Care Attendant (PCA) enables an individual to live more independently and perhaps pursue activities outside of the home that were not possible before, such as school, work, or general socialization.

Funded by MassHealth, the PCA program is open to individuals of any age that are already on MassHealth Standard or CommonHealth, and have a chronic or permanent disability, which requires them to need assistance with at least two ADLs (Activities of Daily Living.) It is the Consumers responsibility for finding, hiring, and training their PCA, as well as run the administrative portion of the program. The Personal Care Attendant is paid a wage from MassHealth, on a monthly basis.

How does BayPath Support this program?
Once a referral form requesting PCA services is complete, it goes to the PCA administrator who will review the eligibility of the consumer for the program. If eligible, BayPath coordinates with the consumers Primary Care Physician (PCP) for a “prescription” stating that the consumer does indeed require assistance with ADLs.

The consumer is initially visited by a BayPath Skills trainer who starts the enrollment process and explains the program. Our Registered Nurse and Occupational Therapist then complete an in-person needs assessment and send it to the PCP for approval. The completed and approved assessment goes to MassHealth for final processing. The entire PCA enrollment process takes a minimum of 45 days to complete.  While the process may be complex due to the multiple parties and agencies involved, the result is well worth it to both the individual and supporting family members, by helping the consumer regain a sense of independence.

A consumer recently sent out PCA department the following note:

 “My husband and I just moved my sister to live with us to help with her care as she has a severe degenerative disease, and my mom is aging. It has been a difficult adjustment, and I am so new at trying to arrange healthcare and doctor appointments, etc., that it has been fairly hard. The PCA Department was so helpful at getting us started with the paperwork required to obtain a Personal Care Attendant and so kind on the phone. The PCA Department was very encouraging when we first spoke and always called me back right away if I had missed a call. The PCA Department made what is a difficult adjustment a little bit easier.”

Meet the PCA Team
Program Manager Patrick Murray runs the BayPath PCA program along with PCA Registered Nurse Robin Logan, Occupational Therapist Elaine Cahill, Skills Trainer Wanda Jimenez, Skills Trainer Rochelle Pagan, and Administrative Assistant Allison Goldman. The group reports to the Director of Clinical Operations and Community Programs, Mary Lou Sheehan.