MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Consumer Directed Choices offer options for people in need of long-term care
With the country still in the midst of a pandemic, providing long-term personal care for family and loved ones can be a challenge. Putting someone into a nursing home is not an obvious and simple solution, especially when so many nursing homes keep showing up in the news as hotspots for COVID-19.
How do you make sure that your loved one is getting the services they need while keeping them as safe as possible? If you’re willing to take on some managerial responsibilities, the answer to this question could be Consumer Directed Choices.
Consumer Directed Choices, or CDChoices as it’s commonly abbreviated, is a nonprofit organization that serves as an intermediary between people who need services, called consumers, and the providers who take care of them. It gives consumers the option for home care, staying with their families and in their
communities while receiving the services they need.
The company is headquartered in Albany but serves the whole Capital Region. Since inception, they have served over 3,200 consumers who have hired over 9,000 personal care employees.
CDChoices was founded by the late Constance Laymon, who became a quadriplegic as a teenager. Laymon’s dream was to have a company that changed the way care was provided by giving consumers more control and more independence in their own homes. It is a company for consumers, by consumers.
Many consumers have disabilities that require assistance with everyday tasks. Through CDChoices, consumers can personally choose the providers that assist them, finding people they get along with, and who will allow them to maintain as much independence as possible.
CDCoices is a Medicaidfunded program. Consumers who qualify to participate must be eligible for Medicaid and require longterm home care services, defined as lasting longer than 120 days.
Denise DiNoto, who has worked at CDChoices as the communications and outreach specialist for eight years, has been a consumer since 2008, and was a friend of Laymon, says that the best thing about CDChoices is that “it gives you the maximum control of your life.”
“We all want a say over who touches our bodies, when, where, and under what circumstances,” DiNoto said. “That’s what everyone wants, whether or not you have a disability.”
DiNoto describes the way CDChoices works as looking at it like a one-person company. The consumer is the “CEO of themselves,” and they’re responsible for hiring employees. CDChoices is the fiscal intermediary of that company. They handle all things fiscal for the people hired by the consumer, from payroll and benefits to processing and filing state paperwork.
The consumer is responsible for interviewing, training, and managing anyone they choose to hire for their personal care, and CDChoices will take care of the rest.
“It’s not for everybody,” DiNoto admitted. “Not everybody wants that level of responsibility. But a lot of people do. I do. A nursing home is the last place I ever want to be.”
Especially during the pandemic, having total control over who cares for you is important to consumers. You can be as cautious as you like when it comes to who enters your home.
Jim Shelffo is a direct representative for his son, who has been a consumer with CDChoices for close to nine years. As a designated representative, Shelffo makes all the decisions regarding care for his son. He couldn’t be happier with his choice in the company.
“We get to pick and choose who comes in our home - that’s what makes the program so beautiful,” Shelffo said. “We hire who we know, whowe trust. We control the scheduling, the training, and the safety protocols.”
Shelffo says CDChoices has its benefits and drawbacks just like any other company, but as far as he’s concerned the benefits significantly outweigh the drawbacks.
“They’ve been absolutely phenomenal,” he said. “If there’s a problem, they fix it immediately. They’re very easy to work with.”
In fact, Shelffo thinks so highly of the company that he joined the board of directors. He currently holds the position of chair of the board development committee. It’s his way of getting involved and giving back to the company that makes it easier to provide care for his son.
“I don’t have to worry about him while I’m at work,” he said. As a single father with a full-time job, Shalffo values the peace of mind that comes with knowing his son is in good hands in the comfort of his own home.
DiNoto feels similarly, which is why she is so proud to work for a company that lets her not only help but empower people who are like her, people who can remain at home and independent by having total control over the care they receive. It’s CDChoice’s mission to put the philosophy of the independent living movement into everything they do.
“I know firsthand that this company makes a difference,” DiNoto said. “We’re letting people know that they have an option, that they can remain in control.”