License, Low Pay Have Chore Workers Worried About 1991 BY TKRRY I'OPK For the past 11 years. Rose Lcdct has Uikcn care of an invalid woman but in January she may be forced to quit. Rose, 72, feeds, bathes and provides in home health care 24 hours a day, with eight of those hours funded through the Brunswick County Department of Social Service's CAP services, or Community Alternatives Program. CAP provides a chore worker to help care for patients who are just one step away from being placed into a nursing home. Chore workers have operated through the Department of Social Services for 15 years. Under new regulations which go into ef fect Jan. 1, chore providers like Rose will lose their jobs and must stop providing home health care for patients unless they become licensed as a nurse's aide. The State Nursing Board has mandated that anyone providing in-home patient care must be licensed and must also take contin uing education courses each year for re newal. Chore workers must also become certified in CPR, cardiopulmonary resusci tation lifesaving techniques. "No one else can go into that home and take care of her," said Jcannettc Roach, whose mother is Rose's patient. "1 don't know how or what can be done, but we're willing to do anything we can do to keep her." Rose has known the Roach family for 46 years. The family is upset that the state could impose such regulations without al lowing exceptions for people like Rose. Although aimed more at the private com panies that now provide home health care in the state, the new regulations also affect programs sponsored by county social ser vices departments. "Unfortunately, those regulations arc de veloped to help people," said Brunswick County Six'ial Services Director Jamie Orrock. "Bui sometimes they end up hurt ing people more than they help." The Suite Division of Social Services has gone on record opposing the new re quirements and so have Brunswick County's chore workers. However, 25 DSS chore providers completed the 75-hour Nurse Assistant 1 coursc offered by Brunswick Community College in October, said nursing instructor Connie Milligan. "It's not a coursc 1 have on the schedule at this time," Ms. Milligan said. "There was some miscommunicalion at one time where they didn't iliink they would nave to take it." ? Another course will be offered if DSS " Unfortunately, those regulations are devel oped to help people, but sometimes they end up hurting people more than they help." ?Jamie Orrock DSS Director requests one and if coursc instructor Bernice Lewis can arrange the schedule, she said. "If they were to provide us with x num ber of people, I'm sure they would work something out," said Ms. Milligan Chore providers operate through three programs to provide care for patients who qualify for Medicaid. Nineteen county resi dents arc currently being served through the department's CAP program, 53 receive assistance through the Title 20 program and 24 through the Personal Care Services program. More chronically ill patients are served through CAP. Currently, there are 69 county residents on the department's CAP waning list. That list has been as high as 1(X), Orrock said. "You're going to see it increase even more with a growing elderly population in Brunswick County," he predicted. The county decided to operate its own in-home health care service rather than contract that program out to a private busi ness. Programs such as CAP arc more cost effective for families of chronic ill patients than nursing home care, said Orrock. "It's also more mentally rewarding to be able to stay at home. Placing a person in a nursing home is a demoralizing experience. You can almost sec the cloud come over their facc." For the chore workers, the new regula tions make no exceptions. There is no grandfather clause that exempts workers, such as Rose, from having to go through the rigorous training to become licensed. "It's just not a negotiable issue," Orrock said. "We can go to the state for excep tions, but I wouldn't be very optimistic." Ms. Roach said Rose is the only person that her mother can communicate with. Her mother is on oxygen and cannot feed her self. The Roach family subsidizes Rose for the hours not covered as a chore worker. Ms. Roach is afraid that switching to a new chore provider will upset her mother and further threaten her health. If chore workers must rcccivc extra train ing and take continuing education courses in the future to keep their licenses, then they want better pay. Chore worker Roy Holdcn addressed the Brunswick County Board of Social Services Monday to ask if the depart ment could find a way to increase chore providers* pay. Chore providers arc paid $4.16 per hour, or about SX.450 annually, Holdcn said. County custodians earn Sll.WX) per year, he said. "It's really pathetic when someone can push a brixim and make more money than someone who must provide care for another person," Holden said. "I'm not knocking the custodians. 1 accepted the job at that pay, but I didn't know that later on I'd have to be come a certified nurse's aide or certified in CPR." Orrock said the county has three methods for giving pay raises: across the board pay increases; merit pay, which hasn't become a county policy; and reclassif;cauon of state positions as requested by the county. In light of the new liccnse requirements, the state needs to reclassify chore positions, Orrock said, but that could take a couple of years. Shooting BY TKRRY POPE A Lcland man remained hospital ized Tuesday aflcr being shol out side a Navassa nightelub late Friday. Timothy Terry Ballard, 30, of Route 5, Lcland, was hit in the right abdomen by pellets from a shotgun blast outside of Valentino's, reported Deputy M.S. Mason with llie Bruns wick County Sheriff's Department. According to the report, Marshall McKoy Jr. of Route 4, Lcland, was in the parking lot at the nightclub when the suspect approached and fired at him, hitting McKoy's vehi cle with at least 15 pellets. Ballard, who was a bystander, tried to run, but was also hit by the shotgun blast. Detective Gary Shay is investi gating the shooting. The nightclub is on Cellar Hill Loop Road. Ballard was taken by private ve hicle to New Hanover Memorial Hospital in Wilmington where he was admitted, Del. Shay reported. In oilier reports on file at the Sheriff's Department: ? Detectives have ruled that a Sup ply man found dead in his home died front natural causes. Lynwood Thomas Chandler of Route 5, Lum berton, was found dead around 11:30 a.m. Saturday at his vacation home in West Tanglcwood. A neighbor reported he had not seen the victim for a number of days. Deputy Ken Mcsscr obtained per mission to enter the home, where he found Chandler lying paitly on a bed in a rear bedroom. ? Burglars vandalized and then look an estimated $15,559 in boat motors and tools from Mike's Marine on N.C. 130 west, Shalloiie, sometime late Friday, re|xirted Deputy Douglas Todd. Thieves cut a hole in a fence and a garage door and cut the line to an alarm box to gain entry. A lire ex tinguisher was sprayed inside the building and paint was poured on the floor, windows and merchandise. ? More than S3,7(X) in saplings and shrubs were removed from die en trance to River Gate Estates on N.C!. 904, reported Franklin Gore on Sunday. The shrubbery had recently been planted. Deputy R.J. Hoag land's report stated. Leaves One Injured ? Someone look a drive on the 18th hole at Carolina Shores Golf Course late Sunday, hut with a sports car in stead of an iron. Fred Edwards re ported someone drove a vehicle on to the 18th green, spinning and slid ing the vehicle across the turf and taking a flag pole worth $35. The incident occurred around 10:50 p.m. ? Brunswick County School Bus No. 130 was put out of commission last week when someone broke 12 of its windows while the bus was parked at Shoreline Estates, report ed John Keith Hcwctt. Del. Shay is investigating. ? Someone also broke the windows to a 19X9 Nissan owned by Robert J. Robinson of Route 3, Supply, re ported Del. Shay. Only one window was spared in the larceny, which was reported Thursday. A video camera and tripod was Liken from the car. ? A Navassa woman awoke Thurs day to find her car missing. Daisy Young Jennings of Main Street re ported someone took the keys and a video cassette recorder from her home and drove off with a 1987 Pontiac Bonneville valued at $ 12..3(H). ? Someone hauled away a utility trailer from Holdcn Brothers Pro duce on U.S. 17 south. Shallottc, re ported Kelly Holdcn Friday morn ing. The 12-foot trailer is valued at $600, Deputy G.A. Caison reported. ? A boat and motor valued at $1,200 was reported stolen from a Bricklanding location, reported the owner, Jerry Ransom of Route 4, Bladcnboro. Deputy Don Stovall re ported the 15-foot 1978 Carolina flat-bottom boat had a 40-horsc powcr motor. ? Burglars entered a home in Hurri cane Haven between Oct. 26 and Nov. 24, reported property owner Richard Hearn of Sanford. A rear door was pried open and thieves look $759 in appliances. Deputy W.F. Moore reported. ? Another home was entered in Seagull Mobile Home Park, report ed Donald Lynn Pennington of Route 6, Shallottc, on Friday. A lock on a utility shed was cut and removed along with S948 in tools from inside. Deputy Stovall's report stated. ? Pamela Todd Strickland of Route 9, Shallottc, reported someone pried open a glass door and damaged a window in gaining entry to her home and taking an estimated SS34 in jewelry and causing $700 in damages, reported Deputy George Stanley. ? An estimated $449 in fishing gear and boating equipment was taken from a home on N.C. 179 south of Shallottc, reported property owner Evcrctte Fritts of Lexington on Wednesday. Deputy Hoagland re ported someone pried open a back door to gain entry. ? The Fisherman Cove Grill on Kir by Road was broken into Wednes day night, but nothing was reported missing, reported William Eades. Deputy Charlie Wilson reported a hole had been knocked into a si le uiHir to the business causing $100 in damage. ? Norman Ray Allen of Charlotte re ported Thursday that someone broke die windshield to his vehicle parked at a residence on Boonesncck Road around 12:30 a.m. Deputy Wilson listed the damage at $250. WmUUs GIFT SHOP We'll have Ice Cream all winter! 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