As you age and enter your senior years, it’s perfectly normal to notice a gradual decrease in your daily energy. Things like washing the dishes, running to the grocery store, and paying bills require more and more strength to accomplish. Getting through your list of daily tasks gets increasingly challenging, and by the end of the day you are completely spent.
If you have a disability, the challenges are even greater. If you have a mobility issue or a physical limitation, you may no longer be able to accomplish some simple tasks like you used to like vacuuming the floors, making a cup of coffee, or changing your linens.
As an independent adult used to caring and providing for yourself, frustration may begin to set in. You just don’t feel like yourself at home anymore. Thoughts of assisted living facilities and nursing homes cross your mind but don’t seem necessary yet — you just need a little help. You know full-well having some extra assistance around the house would be exactly what you need to maintain your health and restore your sense of independence.
If either of these scenarios seem familiar, the Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program, also known as CDPAP, may be the appropriate remedy for you. According to cdpapny.org “CDPAP is a Medicaid program that allows consumers to direct their own home care. One of the highlights of the program is that it allows family members and friends to get paid to care for their loved ones.”
CDPAP is available in New York State and allows consumers to direct their own care and decide who their caregiver will be. As the consumer, you hire, train, and supervise a personal assistant (PA) of your choice. You can appoint a friend, relative, or neighbor — someone whom you trust — to be your PA, instead of having a home health aide or caregiver assigned to you by a third-party agency. This approach emphasizes the importance of having a familiar face, who knows you best, understands your likes, dislikes, habits, and personality, be the one to care for you.
Through CDPAP, your PA will assist with the activities of daily living (ADLs) that may be challenging for you such as meal preparation, light housekeeping, and personal grooming. Unlike a standard home health aide, PAs can manage wound care, administer medications and insulin injections. You no longer need to dread the thought of struggling with your daily to-do list because your PA will be there, at a predetermined time you personally scheduled, to make sure all your needs are taken care of. Your energy can go back into living your life without the anxiety and stress worrying about your well-being.