Northern Ont. woman living with ALS says PSW shortage is causing her life to 'deteriorate'
A West Nipissing woman living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is speaking out about how the shortage of personal support workers is impacted her life.
Jenny Begin, who lives in Verner, said her life deteriorates when personal support workers (PSW) don’t show up to her home to assist with her care.
"I’m just a small voice and I’m sure in our community there are a lot of people going through the same thing," said Begin.
She has been living with ALS for eight years. Since starting home care, two PSWs would visit her for basic personal care on a consistent basis. One PSW arrives in the morning for an hour of care and another arrives in the afternoon for three hours of care.
"When you’re not capable of doing your own thing and you’re depending on everybody to help you through the day, it’s tough," said Begin.
Her sister, Cindy Brouillette, said a few weeks ago, on two of the five days Begin receives care, no PSWs showed up. The left Begin without a backup plan to help her eat and go to the bathroom.
"She can’t wait for her husband to come home or for me to come home after work," said Brouillette. "She’s totally dependent."
When no one showed up, Begin said her anxiety kicked in and severely impacted her current condition both physically and mentally.
Her main care provider is ParaMed Home Health Care Services.
In a statement issued to CTV News, the organization writes it’s not immune to the staffing shortage created by the COVID-19 pandemic and that it plans to address the situation as best as it can.
"We are working to address the staffing capacity challenges facing our teams as soon as is possible so that we can better ensure every client receives the care they expect, when they expect it," the company said.
"We are committed to upholding our responsibility to meeting the care needs of our patients and clients, while remaining vigilant against the virus."
ParaMed adds it is investing in training programs across the province in partnership with post-secondary schools to speed up workforce development for clients.
Begin said the situation is frustrating because she knows ParaMed is doing "everything they can" to get her adequate care.
"Recruiting people is hard to do when they are not being paid the proper wage that they should deserve," said Brouillette.
Begin has been a client of ParaMed for over four years. She says hasn’t faced this issue before the pandemic began. While at the same time advocating for more PSWs, the sisters want them to be paid more for what they do.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.