Dear Fellow Providers,
When I started CARE Inc back in 1991 things were so different from today.
As providers, we were charged with keeping people healthy and safe as they transitioned out of institution-based care to Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) for the first time.
It was determined then that individuals with disabilities were capable of living meaningful lives if they could be in the open community and accepted as individuals, and not institutionalized due to a lack of understanding regarding their unique challenges and abilities.
I was proud then, and still am, at the difference we are able to make in their lives.
Now, 35 years later, I can hardly go to a high school graduation, concert or restaurant or festival without seeing the positive effect we, as providers, have had in the lives of those we serve.
Our clients are graduating, dancing in the isles and sitting in restaurants enjoying their lives as a result of our success in making the turn from institution-base care to Home and Community Based Services.
So many of the clients we serve are living lives that require providers to acknowledge that our mission has grown beyond keeping our clients healthy and safe.
Today, our success and our clients are demanding more of us. Our clients now expect us to acknowledge their desire for the dignity of risk and self-determination.
So this is our new frontier, the next chapter in our ever evolving story: Balancing health and safety while ensuring our clients and staff have the proper tools to manage risk and determine their own futures.
I see people water skiing in adaptive devices. I see people who were once limited by impediments now snow skiing with ski instructors and achieving their goals.
These are real people living amazing lives that were unheard of 35 years ago.
And I wonder how our industry of HCBS providers can ensure this success continues and expands for all of our clients who are so capable and deserving of living their best lives.
How can we break down their goals and desires into manageable efforts that allow a DSP to help them succeed?
How do we move beyond generic tasks like “will assist with personal hygiene”?
What does this even mean in a Person-Centered way?
How do we break down the individual tasks associated with this? Is it up to our staff to determine or is it up to the individuals we serve?
Broad goals do not demonstrate our clients ability to progress toward success.
If a client wants to learn to cook, how do we demonstrate new skills without breaking the goal down into manageable activities that end up being a cooked grilled cheese sandwich ready to be enjoyed?
Measurable Goals and Outcomes in a living care plan is the answer.
I have spent the past three years working with leading experts in person-centered care, software development, and HCBS compliance to build the most powerful tool ever created specifically for us as HCBS Providers.
That tool is CuraOS.
CuraOS empowers us providers and our DSPs to supporting our clients as they embrace dignity in risk and self-determination.
Thank you for your dedication to your clients and this industry, and considering CuraOS!
James Griffith
Founder of CuraOS
Owner of CARE, Inc