After a spinal cord injury
Attendant care that fits your life, not a schedule
Most people with a spinal cord injury are not elderly and are not sick. They need hands for specific tasks, on their own terms — so that everything else in their life stays theirs.
The word most agencies use is “care.” The word that usually fits better here is attendant — someone who does the physical tasks you direct, in the way you want them done. You are not a patient. You are the person running your own household who needs a specific set of hands for a specific set of hours.
What attendant care covers
- Transfers — bed, chair, vehicle, shower. Done to your technique, not improvised.
- Bowel and bladder programs, on your schedule, which is not negotiable and everyone in this world knows it.
- Bathing, dressing and grooming
- Skin checks and repositioning — pressure injuries are the complication that costs people months, and prevention is a daily habit rather than an event.
- Range of motion as directed by your therapist
- Meals, laundry, housekeeping, errands
- Transportation to appointments, work or class
You direct the care. A caregiver who has worked with a spinal cord injury before knows this already. One who has not gets told, and takes the instruction. Anyone who cannot work that way is not the right person for your case, and we would rather find that out at the assessment than in your bathroom.
Who pays
Spinal cord injury is the clearest example of why Pennsylvania's two under-60 programs exist:
- The OBRA waiver — a Medicaid waiver for adults 18 to 59 with a severe physical disability requiring an intermediate care level of support, with substantial limitations in three or more major life activities. Covers personal assistance, respite, service coordination, home adaptations and assistive technology. More here.
- Act 150 — state-funded, for people whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid. A sliding weekly fee, capped at the cost of services. More here.
Enrollment for both starts with Pennsylvania's Independent Enrollment Broker: 1-877-550-4227. There may also be workers' compensation or auto insurance in the picture depending on how the injury happened — worth checking before assuming anything.
Your own person can often be the paid attendant
If a family member or a friend is already doing this work, we may be able to hire them and pay them for it. The programs exclude a spouse, a legal guardian and an active power of attorney — but an adult child, a parent, a sibling, a niece or nephew, a friend or a neighbour is permitted.
For someone with a spinal cord injury this is often the best possible arrangement: the person already knows your transfers and your routine, and now they are trained, insured and paid instead of doing it on top of a job.
Working with us
One attendant assigned to one person, not a rotation. Twenty hours a week and up. English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian and Farsi. Serving Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe counties.
Call 610-466-5715.
Also worth knowing: the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living in Allentown works with people across Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, Carbon and Berks counties on independent living skills, advocacy and peer support. They are not a home care agency and we are not affiliated with them — we mention them because they are genuinely useful.