From Julie and Colin Castle:

First and foremost, Julie and I want to say thank for your dedication to Home Instead and the seniors of Pinellas County. We cannot say thank you enough for the work you do! We wanted to send out some information on a few topics, so you are kept informed.

1) With COVID-19 still going strong in Pinellas County, surprising we are still above a 5% infection rate in the county, we must remind all caregivers that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is still mandatory and required during all shifts. If your client does not like you wearing a mask, please ask us for a clear face shield. Wearing PPE provides protection for our clients and our caregivers. We have the following available for caregivers; gloves, disposable masks, KN95 masks, cloth masks, clear face shields, booties, disposable gowns, and safety glasses.

2) We realize the importance and value of all our caregivers and the services they provide to our clients. We are working very hard to roll out new compensation (Pay Rates) and new benefits in line with the increase in minimum wage which takes affect September 30, 2021. If you are not aware, minimum wage is set to increase as follows:

• Increase to $10.00 on September 30, 2021
• Increase to $11.00 on September 30, 2022
• Increase to $12.00 on September 30, 2023
• Increase to $13.00 on September 30, 2024
• Increase to $14.00 on September 30, 2025
• Increase to $15.00 on September 30, 2026

Our intention is to raise pay rates by September 30, 2021 from their current levels to $12.00 to $15.00 per hour based on education, experience, and skills. We will continue to offer $1.00 per hour extra in the weekends and the $2.00 per hour extra for all Tier 2 clients. In addition, we will be adding a weekly incentive bonus of up to $.50 per hour based on the number of hours worked. This means, you could earn up to an additional $3.50 per hour on top of your base pay.

We do not want to forget all those who work our 24-hour/live-in shifts, you will see an increase as well, our base pay will range from $225 to $275 per day.

We intend to increase wages each year as the increase in minimum wage occurs. We are also looking at better overall benefits from medical, vision, dental, workplace products, paid vacation, 401(k) with company matching, etc.

What we are asking is please hang in with us as we work through the logistics such as increasing client rates, negotiating better reimbursement rates for PACE and AREA Agency on Agency Clients. We know each of you deserve better pay and we are working on making that a reality.

3) We have found a new location for our northern most office. That office will be open starting Monday April19, 2021 from 10am to 3pm Monday through Friday. Pauline will be working from that location as well as Rachel, Terri, and JC on select days during the week. The office is located near the Pinellas County Property Appraisers office, The DMV, and the Olive Garden on US 19 N.

The new location is:
29275 US Hwy 19 N
Clearwater, FL 33761

4) If you know of any friends or colleagues wanting work, we are always hiring and if you refer somebody you can earn a $250 referral bonus.

5) Home Instead across the entire US has decided to standardize all offices on one operating (scheduling) system called ClearCare. You will be seeing information from me about our change from AxisCare to ClearCare in the coming weeks. We will have training and one on one time scheduled with all caregivers to help with the transition. We will make it as smooth and simple as possible.

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