Managing Personal Assistants: A Consumer Guide. – Review – book review
Dale K. Goodman
MANAGING PERSONAL ASSISTANTS: A CONSUMER GUIDE by Paralyzed Veterans of America
Oh, boy! Your MS symptoms are getting worse, and now you need help managing your day-to-day care. It’s time to look for help. Where do you start? What needs to be considered? Who is best to hire? How do you pay? Huge!
The realization that you need help can be daunting. Then, the methods and details of successfully hiring a good helper or personal care attendant (PCA) seem overwhelming, and many who really need help delay the process for lack of solid guidance.
Delay no longer! The Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) has published a comprehensive manual: Managing Personal Assistants: A Consumer Guide. This guidebook delves into everything: recruiting, interviewing, reference checking, training, being a good manager, maintaining a good working and personal relationship, and solving common problems that might arise. It also addresses service dogs, assistive technology, and tax responsibilities.
This manual also has loads of sample forms and letters. It is written in easy-to-understand language, and best of all, it is very affordable. A cautionary note, though. This book is best for the beginning PCA employer. Still, it might offer old hands some valuable refinements to their regimens.
Paralyzed Veterans of America, 2000. 70 pp, $11.95. Call 1-888-860-7244. (The PVA generously donated a copy of the book to every Society chapter office.)
Reviewed by Dale K. Goodman, 58, a retired health-care administrator who has had MS for 43 years and has required caregivers for the past decade.
COPYRIGHT 2001 National Multiple Sclerosis Society
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
