Many seniors living in long-term care facilities don’t have friends or family to help them celebrate the holidays. It can be a lonely time of year.
But specialty employment agency Plan A has launched an Adopt a Senior program to help spread Christmas cheer in many of the region’s long-term care homes.
“We’re extremely thrilled about this program,” said Jackie Noble-Chow, owner of the Timmins branch of Plan A. “We launched it (Nov. 15) and since then the community has adopted almost 60 seniors. We’re really happy it’s looking successful its first time around.
“We’re thankful the long-term care facilities in our area really took a chance on this and I think it is just going to get better and better every year.”
Plan A is an employment agency specializing in long-term care staffing and recruitment. Noble-Chow wanted to give back to seniors in need who stay at client-operated facilities.
“We asked for a list of seniors who otherwise don’t have family or friends that would visit them at Christmas,” she said. “We wanted them to feel special on Christmas because we feel everyone should.”
There are still more seniors available to adopt for Christmas. The gifts requested are not expensive. Common requests include warm socks and slippers, throw blankets and puzzle books. The deadline to drop off items at the Plan A Timmins office is Dec. 16.
“The homes provided us with a list for each senior of a want and a need, we put them on ornaments on our tree, and people in the community can come in, pick an ornament and adopt that senior,” Noble-Chow said. “They can either wrap or not wrap the gifts and put the tag on it. We gave them (ornaments) code names to the seniors, so we make sure it gets to the right facility and the right senior.”
Plan A provides temporary staff — including Registered Nurses (RNs), Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) and Personal Support Workers (PSWs) — to homes in Timmins and surrounding area. Students who have completed the first year of college training can qualify as a PSW.
The local branch’s territory goes up to the James Bay Coast, west to Chapleau and south as far as, but not including, New Liskeard. They have contracts with about 25 facilities.
“We aim to be a support service to long-term care homes when they’re short staffed,” Noble-Chow said. “When they don’t have enough staff, they’ll contact us and then we notify our staff that there are shifts available.
“We’re powered by StaffStat, which is an app. The homes have access to the app, so they’ll put in the shift that’s needed. Then it gets sent to all of our staff through the app.”
Plan A has offices across the province, due to a shortage of professional caregivers.
“There is a huge deficit right now,” she said. “It’s short everywhere, especially in the North because our programs are not full, unfortunately, so we’re not getting as many RNs, RPNs and PSWs graduating as we need. Demand is a lot more than the supply.
“I bought the model from Sheri Tomchick, who started this nine years ago in Sudbury. She saw the need for an agency just dedicated for the needs of long-term care.”
Karine Giroux is the recruiter for Plan A in Timmins. She is always looking for qualified people who want to pick up a few extra shifts each month.
“All the homes are not posting at the same time,” Giroux said. “Sometimes it’s more for the summer or around Christmas time. There are some influxes. Some months we will be bombarded with 500 shifts, other months we will only have 100-200 shifts.
“We are never overstaffed because the need is out there.”
Staff for Plan A only need to pick up three shifts per month. They are always welcome to pick up more.
“It can be for a supplemental income,” Giroux said. “Some people do it for just a change of pace. If they are working in a hospital full time and they want to work in a long-term care home just to change it up.
“Or they want to do it before Christmas to earn some extra money, or for a trip or a down payment on a house. It works for them.”
Workers use the StaffStat app to see what shifts are available and claim them. Shifts become available when staff employed at facilities go on vacation, get sick, have emergencies or the homes are short-staffed.
“They (homes) try to cover their shifts, but because of the shortage of staff now it makes it hard for them,” Noble-Chow said. “There’s not enough staff for the number of retirees in the area.”
As the population of seniors continues to grow, so will the demand for caregivers.
“I think we’re a really good team, we really work well together and we really excel in our own expertise,” Noble-Chow said. “I think StaffStat, the app, takes on a lot of that because homes post their own shifts. We’re monitoring the schedule and making sure it’s flowing and making sure staff are where they need to be, and dealing with those outside problems if needed. But it’s pretty smooth.”
To take part in the Adopt A Senior program or for RNs, RPNs and PSWs interested in picking up some extra work, Plan A is located at 273 Second Ave. in Timmins. For more information, you can reach them by phone at 705-531-7526, visit their website, or find them on Facebook.
