Recently, some of our staff members participated in a volunteer initiative where we improved the quality of housing for our individuals in four homes in the DFW area. We catered lunch for the volunteers, the individuals, and employees who work at the house! Go team Caregiver! #caregiverinc
As anyone reading this knows, since late last year all business’ across all states are facing significant staffing challenges. Food service, warehouses, trucking and airlines have all been highlighted on national news for the severity of their workforce openings. Services for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities are facing the same critical shortages, however, have not received the same level of media coverage as some of these other industries.
The good news is that the President signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into law on March 11, 2021, which provided states with millions of dollars to spend to recruit and retain staff in Home and Community Based Services, like those provided by Caregiver. And to date, every state where Caregiver provides services, EXCEPT TEXAS, has passed these funds on to providers resulting in increased wages or sign-on and retention bonuses for Direct Support Professionals.
We send our sincerest thank you to Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio and Indiana for supporting Direct Support Professionals and those we serve through these challenging times by taking action.
For those residing in Texas, unfortunately the people we support and the Direct Support Professionals we employ have not received the same support from the state.
As of the end of April 2022, Texas has not passed on desperately needed funds received through ARPA. Further, Texas currently reimburses providers allowing for an average hourly rate of $8.11 per hour for Direct Support Professionals, which is well below any other industry (fast food, grocery, gas stations, nursing facilities) pay in all of our Texas markets. Caregiver generally pays higher than this in all markets, but can only do so much without the state’s help.
Caregiver has been and continues to work very hard to get Texas to release these desperately needed funds. We understand employees and guardians frustration and quite frankly we share it. We advocate on this issue every single day and will soon enable anyone reading this to easily advocate, as well. We expect to post a link very soon allowing you to join in on our fight.
Sincerely,
Caregiver
(FORT WORTH, Texas) — Caregiver Inc., a leading provider of long-term care services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, announced today it has acquired assets from two businesses, leading to our rapid growth and service expansion in Indiana over the last four months.
“Caregiver is seeing long-term success as we continue to expand within Indiana,” said Mark Lashley, Chief Executive Officer, Caregiver. “Our investments there are designed to greatly improve the quality of care to our vulnerable population of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
In December 2021, Fort Worth-based Caregiver closed on the non-profit Bethesda Lutheran Communities portion of service to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This includes locations in Valparaiso and Greenfield in Indiana.
In March 2022, Caregiver acquired the majority of the residential and community based assets of Compass Residential & Consulting, whom is considered a well-established provider of waiver services for over a decade throughout Indiana. This includes home based community services covering individuals in Marion, Lake, Dubois, Allen, Vigo, Monroe, and Vanderburgh counties.
Caregiver’s Chief Development Officer, Gary Nettis said “We continue to support the Indiana I/DD community as we continue to build upon our momentum in the State. We continue to establish ourselves as a trusted buyer of assets serving the intellectual and developmentally disabled, while striving to be a leading and lasting provider of services supporting the broader Indiana community.”
(FORT WORTH, Texas) — Caregiver Inc., a leading provider of long-term care services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, announced today it has acquired four companies, continuing their rapid growth and expanding services in Indiana and Ohio.
“Caregiver is a different Long-Term Services and Supports provider – we are bringing LTSS services for people with disabilities into the twenty-first century by investing in our employees and investing in forward thinking technology,” said Mark Lashley, Chief Executive Officer, Caregiver. “Our investments are designed to greatly improve the quality of care to our vulnerable individuals.”
Fort Worth-based Caregiver closed on the following acquisitions since September 2021: Heartland Residential in Indiana; Opportunities To Succeed in Ohio; Concepts in Community Living in Ohio; and Hope Homes of Richland County in Ohio. These four acquisitions bring over approximately 200 individuals and 300 employees into the Caregiver family. These investments provide care for individuals through supported living sites, group homes, family supports and adult day services.
“We continue to support our mission of providing high quality supports to our individuals and local communities while making strategic investments in this underserved yet critical area of care”, said Gary Nettis, Caregiver’s Chief Development Officer. “Each of these acquisitions have similar traits focused on a strong service core whereby we will leverage our resources and technologies to create unique opportunities for all.”
About Caregiver Inc.
At Caregiver, we are guided by a mission to enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to lead their unique lives with dignity, independence, and inclusion. Respect for an individual’s abilities is the foundation of our work. We provide intermediate, home and community-based care services in innovative and loving environments to thousands of individuals through our affiliates in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio. Learn more about Caregiver at www.cg-idd.com or call (800) 299-5161.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Normally, when you think of music at the Miller Theater, it’s onstage during a performance; but what you may not know is on certain days of the week, music is used for so much more.
The Knox Music Institute calls the Miller its home. That’s where the Augusta Symphony has it’s outreach program called Community Chords Musical Therapy. It provides group music therapy services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities on a weekly basis.
“In music therapy we use music experiences to address non-musical goals. So, we work on things like social skills and teamwork and leadership and self-expression and creativity; but we do all that using music,” said Veronica Andreassen-Barker, Music Therapist, Community Chords.
For those with intellectual disabilities, participating in the program gives them an activity that increases quality of life and an outlet to be expressive.
“We see a lot of changes immediately in how folks hold themselves, their affect, their face in how their facial expressions look, how much eye contact I get. We see lots of those immediate changes, but over time we also see changes in relationship building and expression and even in folks who don’t use words to communicate. They become more communicative over time, as well,” said Veronica Andreassen-Barker.
The program doesn’t just help those who are participating; it helps the teachers, too.
“I love it. Music therapy is my passion and I really love that the Augusta Symphony has this community-based program. It’s not at a hospital. It’s here in the community in the heart of Augusta and it really shows the intersection of well-being and music right here at the Miller Theater and the Augusta Symphony. I love it. It’s great,” said Veronica.
For more info on the Community Chords Musical Therapy Program CLICK HERE
Originally posted here: https://www.wjbf.com/csra-news/community-chords-musical-therapy-is-an-outlet-for-those-with-intellectual-and-developmental-needs/?fbclid=IwAR3YmOHEPx4LAVEZLlOOjZl0QSyI0_5vpAknpYE-V7HZckxCZWc4pECEQ6M
Caregiver has made a great investment into the updating of our fleet. We will be distributing 15 new Toyota Sienna mini vans per month for the remainder of the year. These new hybrid vans will be used to replace our older vehicles equipping our staff with the latest and greatest safety equipment available, while providing our individuals with a safe ride and saving costs on fuel.
For Immediate Release
June 28, 2021
Caregiver Inc. Announces New Brand to Reflect Company’s Values and Mission
(FORT WORTH, Texas) – Caregiver Inc., the leading provider of long-term care services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), announced today the unveiling of a network-wide rebranding initiative that affirms the growing company’s values and mission.
“We are excited to launch the new corporate brand that represents our commitment to being a best-in-class choice for IDD services,” said Mark Lashley, chief executive officer, Caregiver. “The results of a collaborative process, the fresh branding honors the incredible investment our colleagues make to serve the individuals we care for day in and day out.”
The new visual identity is comprised of components that reflect Caregiver’s core values and the company’s mission to support the unique goals and dreams of the people it serves.
Caregiver has experienced a high rate of growth marked by the acquisitions of 20 companies in five states since 2015. Following a break during the pandemic, the company is embarking on a new acquisition season. The rebranding celebrates the company’s success and symbolizes a renewed sense of hope for employees, care providers, and the people they serve.
The company plans to immediately deploy digital assets of the new brand and display new signage at its support center in Fort Worth. Additional branding changes at the company’s locations in Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Georgia will begin in the fourth quarter of 2021.
What goes into a blog post? Helpful, industry-specific content that: 1) gives readers a useful takeaway, and 2) shows you’re an industry expert.
Use your company’s blog posts to opine on current industry topics, humanize your company, and show how your products and services can help people.
January 26, 2021
Dear Caregiver Employee, I would like to say thank you for all you do, to provide continuous care to our individuals on a daily basis. Without your continual efforts and dedication, our individuals would not be as healthy and happy as they are today. We recognize the challenges you face, forcing you to continually adapt to new protocols as we navigate through this pandemic while keeping yourselves and your families safe. Despite the challenges that we’ve all faced, our company chooses to believe that this is a time of renewed hope!
At Caregiver, we have been planning and taking the necessary steps to ensure that our individuals and employees have the opportunity, if they so choose, to receive the vaccine in a timely manner based on current availability. In each of our states of operation, we registered all our individuals and employees early with the Federal/Ancor partnership COVID vaccine project, in an effort to make vaccinations available to all our individuals and employees. We have been hosting vaccination clinics since December 12, 2020 and will continue with open vaccination clinics until this initiative has been complete.
We understand that many of you may have concerns about the vaccination and have chosen not to receive the vaccination at this time. We can certainly understand your worries and hear your concerns. As an essential employee providing care to individuals with multiple diagnoses and are deemed high-risk, it is even more critical that you educate yourself on the benefits and safety of the vaccine and choose to be vaccinated for the health and safety of yourself and those you interact with on a daily basis. Our number one priority is the safety of our individuals and our employees. In order to accomplish this goal of health and safety, it is critical that our employees get vaccinated. Choosing to get the COVID-19 vaccination will begin giving you protection against the virus and could also protect the individuals you care for, your co-workers, and your family members.
The CDC maintains that the vaccine is safe (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety.html) and below are key points regarding the EUA COVID-19 vaccination:
On a personal note, as an RN, I have been fortunate enough to have been offered the vaccination and have already received it, as have many of our other Caregiver Nurses. It was important to me that I protect others and myself from COVID-19, and I hope you will seriously consider the same.
Your health and safety continue to be our priority. If you have any questions about the upcoming vaccination efforts, please contact your Area Director or Area Nurse.
Finally, thank you for your ongoing support, care and commitment to our individuals during these unparalleled times.
Sincerely,
Randi Morgan, RN BSN
Vice President |Clinical Services