MARCH 2018
[Type text]
A Word from Mollie Baldwin, CEO
March is here again and the time change has happened. We are all trying to adjust to the clocks springing ahead. Yay for longer days and more hours of light- makes the long wait of winter worthwhile and summer is closer each day.
Getting to work on time means a lot to the consumers you serve. Arriving 10-15 minutes late and not telling the office is not acceptable. Try to prepare for each shift by:
1) Know how long it will take to get there and give yourself some wiggle time.
2) Know exactly where you are going & the best route to get there.
3) Get “your stuff” such as careplan, bag, gloves, car keys, license ahead of time.
Please notify your Staffing Coordinator of all schedule changes! It helps all of us deliver better customer service to our consumers.
LD 643 is the bill asking the Legislature for better pay for direct care workers that was carried over from last year’s session. If we do not get the increased funding outlined in this bill our reimbursement rates will decrease on July 1, 2018. We will be working hard before the Appropriations Committee to demonstrate the need and value of your hard work. Let your local Legislators know how important better wages are to you and your family.
A million thanks will never be enough to let you know how much your caring and hard work means to those we serve.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Employee Anniversaries
1 Year Employees
Sherry Bacon
Wendy Bickford
Sherilyn Callahan
Fay Camp
Nicole Carney
Miriam Dodge
Urania Gagne
Jessica McKenzie
Katarina Park
Congratulations
and
Thank you for your dedication and hard work!!!!
Messages from HR
Just a heads up! We are going to be sending out new W-4 forms for people to update and get back to us,as well as the Supplemental Information. We have notice some of our workers who have been here a while have outdated info and we would like to get the files updated. Be looking for it!
If you have signed up for benefits and will be out of work or have a reduction is hours that affects your ability to meet your payroll deductions, it is important to contact the office to speak with our benefits coordinator. We will work with you to collect payment for your portion of the cost of your benefits. This ensures you are able to maintain your benefits even if you are out of work.
There are a few of you whom we haven’t received your criminal background check permissionsyet. It is mandatory this is done to continue to work for us. Please get this in to the main office as soon as possible.
Spring Ahead…
Soon the flowers will be in perfect bloom and the icy, cold winter behind us. Don’t you just love the spring time?
Let’s show our consumers how much we care by staying positive and enjoying every day. It truly is a gift. Sometimes we are the only person our consumer will see or talk with today. Don’t you feel privileged to be trusted with such a position in another person’s life? You make all the difference. Thank you for being you, you are great.
Put your best smile on and give your very best. Show them how valuable they really are and how much you care. They are worth it and so are you.
Congratulations to quick thinking and following protocol
One of our workers had a situation where they went to the consumers home and after knocking on the door, several times, didn’t get any response. The worker immediately called Home Care For Maine to see if we could get in touch with a family member and check on the consumer. Because of the quick actions and thought from the worker, we did get a family member to check on the consumer, who had been on the floors for many hours, and the results saved their consummers life.
We can’t emphasize enough the importance of calling us if the consumer doesn’t answer the door or phone. Call your Staffing Coordinator and if you don’t hear back from them within 15 minutes, CALL AGAIN, until you talk to someone. Let us work together andfind out why they aren’t answering and perhaps even save a life.
Attention Aroostook County
Our Meet and Greet was rescheduled and is still on! We will be meeting at the Governor’s Restaurant in Presque Isle on Thursday March 22, 2018 from 2:30 -5:30. The Director of Nursing, Staffing Coordinator and the Recruiter will be there to meet whomever would like to come out. This would be a great time to bring a new worker to get signed up with us to work as a PSS as well as meet your Staffing Coordinator.
Home Care for Maine is re-launching its Facebook page! Stay connected and receive the latest agency updates such as Meet & Greet Events with Staffing Coordinators, Employee Anniversaries, ‘Employee Spotlight’ or Recognition, Open Houses, Job Fairs, and MORE.
Please like us and share our page today!
Salute to Women
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) was an influential figure in the civil rights movement of the Nineteenth Century. Stanton advocated the end of slavery and equal rights for women and black Americans. After the American civil war, Stanton became increasingly focused on the issue of female suffrage and feminist issues. She was a strong supporter of the Temperance movement and was also critical of organized Christianity for relegating the role of women. She wrote influential pamphlets and books. She is considered by many to be one of the key founders of the women’s rights movement in the US. For more information go to:
Delicious Recipe
Easy Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese
"Cheesy gluten-free deliciousness that is super easy to make. Kid-approved!"
Ingredients
10 ounces gluten-free elbow pasta
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon mustard powder
4 cups milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
Topping:
2 gluten-free bread slices, toasted and broken into crumbs (optional)
1 teaspoon butter, softened (optional)
1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain.
- Melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir salt and mustard powder into melted butter and remove saucepan from heat.
- Whisk milk and cornstarch together in a bowl until smooth; stir into butter mixture until well blended. Return saucepan to stove; cook milk mixture, stirring constantly, over medium heat until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat.
- Stir 3 cups Cheddar cheese into sauce until heat from sauce melts cheese. Add pasta to cheese sauce and stir well; pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Combine remaining 1 cup Cheddar cheese, gluten-free bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon butter, and paprika in a bowl; sprinkle over pasta mixture.
- Bake in the preheated oven until top is crunchy, about 30 minutes.
This Month in History – March
17 The rubber band was invented. Can you imagine life without them!?! (1845)
18 Soviet Union cosmonaut AlekseiLeonov becomes the first person to take a spacewalk. (1965)
19 Congress approves Daylight Savings Time. (1918)
20 Harriet Beacher Stowe publishes the bookUncle Tom's Cabin. (1852)
21 The infamous Alcatraz prison is closed. (1963)
23 Patrick Henry declares "Give me liberty, or give me death!" (1775)
24 German scientist Robert Koch announces he has discovered the bacillus that causes Tuberculosis. (1882)
26 Dr. Jonas Salk invents a vaccine to fight polio.
28 Nathaniel Briggs patents the washing machine. (1797)
28 The city of Madrid falls to the forces of Francisco Franco, ending the Spanish Civil War. (1939)
28 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident occurs in Middletown, Pa. (1979)
29 Ice jams stop the flow of water over Niagara Falls. (1848)
29 Coca Cola is invented. (1886)
30 The 15th amendment goes into effect, giving black men the right to vote. (1870)
30 Jeopardy debuts on television. (1964)
31 The Eiffel Tower opens in Paris, France (1889)
Home Care for Maine – Helping People all Across Maine Since 1994