Enhanced Mobility Of Seniors & Individuals With Disabilities (Pdf: Fill & Download for Free

(Answer edited with more information Sept 2020)Yes, once.A little history here - back in 2011, two of my colleagues and I decided to leave the sinking ship that was our former employer; officially, as stated in our exit interviews, it was because our teams clients (we were a bespoke service for large corporate private medical claims) had been ring-fenced so the future of our role was tenuous to say the least. Without actually looking, we were contacted by a recruiter who knew the changes being made by our former employer, and we were lucky enough to be picked to start up a team launching a brand new product for what was at that time a very small company.This was a huge gamble for us despite the situation with our former employer, to leave a relatively secure job for a start up company we knew little about. Our decision was spurred on mainly due to the fact that our former manager was bullying me and another person on our small team in a well covered but very nasty manner, and despite my careful detailing of the incidents in a diary and email printout evidence on behalf of myself and the staff member too scared to speak up herself, the company effectively closed ranks and ignored my allegations. Not particularly relevant, but if anyone's curious, the bullying manager was fired less than a year later due to the slew of bullying/harassment claims made against her from the 8 people they'd hired to replace my friends and I - without us there the rest of the ‘old’ team left quickly, but the manager obviously felt she was bulletproof since my allegations caused no consequences for her and was either stupid or just inherently cruel enough to continue her bullying with new victims. Thankfully, my actions DID end up helping others even though I don't know the individuals involved, I'm thankful that what was a very difficult and frustrating outcome for me spared others having to go through the same. I heard from another person who left my former employer for my current one that the reason the manager was fired was because HR could no longer ignore the claims made against her. The area of the UK I live in hosts the majority of jobs in this particular industry, and it's no secret that the former manager is blacklisted amongst other future employers. Apologies for the digression, but it does explain somewhat how much it meant to me having a new boss after the awful experience with the former one.So, other than my best friend and I, only one person was recruited for that team at our new company before us, our manager, let's call her Anna. She was and is an incredible manager, a very inspiring person and a wonderful friend. We all formed a great bond in those early months particularly, the level of work gradually increased so that we went from having so little work that we were assisting other departments with basic tasks, making umpteen cups of tea and coffee, cleaning out stationery cupboards etc, to having to put in 12hr days and Saturday overtime to cope whilst new staff were trained. It was a stressful, but incredibly exciting few years, and very gratifying to see our hard work pay off and our company as a whole make an impressive name for itself in the industry - the gamble had paid off beyond anything we could have imagined!In early 2018I had an attempted gallbladder removal which failed but left me with a severe infection causing cellulitis in both my legs. I was off work for months, the infection caused my legs to swell to about 4x their size and constantly leak fluid. Without going into graphic detail (I have some horrific photos from that time!) the skin on my legs degraded to the point where there was no longer any actual skin below my knees. I did receive home nursing care throughout this by the way.One morning I went to the bathroom, walking was a huge struggle and I used a stick. I fell and was trapped with the stick tangled up with my legs, and no strength to get up. Luckily I had my phone in my dressing gown pocket and called for an ambulance and then for my best friend (one of the colleagues who moved to the new company with me) as she had a key to my flat. Unfortunately the communal entrance door was locked and my vile, drug dealing ex neighbours upstairs saw the blue flashing lights from the ambulance and wouldn't answer the door thinking it was the police. My friend was frantic, trying to get builders down the street to break the door in, shouting for the neighbours to open up, meanwhile I had passed out. I was there for 3 hours before the fire brigade managed to climb in through my first floor window and let the paramedics in. I was delirious by that point but as they brought me out my boss was there, having sent my distraught friend home, and she reassured me that she would contact my family who live abroad.I spent about 6 weeks in hospital, I was in a coma, suffered double pneumonia, multiple organ failure and sepsis and several times was not expected to survive the night. My boss visited me regularly on her lunch breaks even when I was unconscious and after the coma when I couldn't communicate verbally but only write.I did return to work briefly about 6 months after the accident but as I have been left with a brain injury causing partial paralysis and epilepsy I currently am unable to work. She still meets with me regularly to keep me updated on developments on our team (now grown from 3 people to over 100!) and has reassured me that my job as a senior member of staff is still there for me when I'm able to return even if it's part time. I couldn't ask for a better, more supportive boss, in fact the company itself has been incredible, they are still paying me 2 years after the event, still paying my pension, share scheme and for my private medical insurance.I'm currently waiting to be rehoused by my local council in an adapted property. Once I am my employer has already made preparations for me to work from home and visit the office as much or as little as I want. I appreciate very much how lucky I am to work for such a genuinely caring company and that has only made me more loyal to them. I am desperate to get back to work and start repaying some of the incredible kindness they have shown me.Edit: I originally put this in a response to a comment but thought it would be appropriate to add it to my main post and with a slight expansion.Since writing my initial post I have completed the ridiculously complicated and unnecessarily difficult process of being assessed by the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) in order to receive income support whilst I am unable to work. Due to the particular situation I am in I am in the somewhat unusual position of actually receiving about 30% more ‘take home pay’ than I would if I returned to work in the same position I previously held. Despite this, largely because my employer is so good and I genuinely love my job, I am anxious to return to work as soon as possible. To me, my quality of life will be better working, being productive and able to socialise with my colleagues, even if it is mostly working from home and part time at that.The alternative is doing nothing but stay at home. I still fill my days with reading, learning, writing, finding new hobbies etc., but I can see how easy it would be for someone in my position to just stagnate in front of the TV all day and become a shut in. I survived for a reason so I'm certainly not going to let that happen!If anyone cares about the numbers side of it, here's a brief explanation of how the (ever changing!) benefits system currently works in the UK.Universal Credit (UC) is based on your age and relationship status. As a single woman aged between 25 - 64 with no children I am entitled to £317 basic UC, £336 Limited capability for work and work related activities, and £535 housing costs per month.Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is comprised of 2 components, Daily Living and Mobility, each paying either a standard or enhanced rate if you qualify for either. This benefit is notoriously difficult to get and a huge percentage of people have to appeal decisions, 73% of appeals go on to be successful! After my successful appeal I receive the standard daily living rate and enhanced mobility rate which equates to £519.56 a month. Receiving the enhanced mobility rate also entitles me to access the motability scheme where a portion of your PIP (no more than £61.20 a week) can be sacrificed to lease a brand new car for 3 years, inclusive of tax, insurance for up to 3 drivers and maintenance. I can't yet take advantage of this as my epilepsy isn't sufficiently controlled but by June I am looking forward to having the freedom to get out!So if I didn't return to work I'd receive £1709.53 (I'd left off some penny amounts earlier if anyone's checking my maths!)In work full time I was taking home after tax, student loan repayments, national insurance and salary sacrifice for pension and the tax - not capital - on my company private medical insurance ~£1,450. On that wage I had to also pay my rent of £600 pcm, utilities, living costs etc and council tax of £1176 in 10 installments a year.Now I am exempt from council tax and I need to move to an adapted property, this isn't something I can do privately as you can't modify a rented home, so I'm on the housing register. The average rent is around £240 pcm, so I'll be saving a massive amount.Until I can legally drive again I can use my PIP to pay around £12 a week for a mobility scooter, but as I also have a free bus pass I would rather wait until I can get a car since I want to be able to transport my dog, do shopping, travel outside of my local area if needed.There are many flaws in the system and a lot of people would think that I am lucky to receive so much in benefits when most struggle on them, but the reason my allowances are higher than normal is because of my disabilities and the chronic pain and fatigue caused. As I said earlier I will be returning to work God willing, and whilst my UC will be affected I won't lose the other benefits. The affect on UC is that for every £1 I earn I lose 60p of UC, so I'll never actually be losing money.Yet another thing I have to be very grateful for as a UK citizen. The application and assessment process is stringent and very flawed - there are articles in the news daily about corrupt assessors and a system designed to make it as difficult as possible to claim, it's taken me around 8 months from my application to being awarded the entitlements I've listed which entailed filling in multiple forms and attending 5 face to face interviews along with submitting all my medical records for the last 2 years. I'm glad it's done now (for another 3 years anyway) but I'm also very grateful that our welfare system will provide assistance when its needed.Update September 2020: I'm now back at work part time!! I am so very happy about this, as you can imagine I am working from home and this is going to be the case for the foreseeable future, regardless of the COVID situation. As I am considered ‘highly vulnerable’ due to my medical history I have been, and will remain, in isolation for at least the next 6 months as the UK enters its second lockdown. I'm very sad that I've not been able to see my mum for over a year now, but the good news with my new arrangement for home working means that by using a VPN I can work anywhere, even abroad, without a problem. I am very much hoping that once life has returned to some form of normality I will be less restricted than before with trips to visit family abroad given that I wouldn't have to take time off work in order to do it!ANOTHER UPDATE: DEC 2020: Well, despite the utter shitshow this year has turned out to be, I'm now on my new 14 hours a week contract and whilst waiting for arrangements to be made for me to complete my FCA mandated 50 hours of annual training as well as the necessary medical retraining and department specific exams I'm beginning to work through the 40k odd emails accrued in my absence! Only a couple of people on my team actually know that I'm ‘back’ (um, working from a laptop in PJs on my sofa with a cup of tea!) so it's been rather fun observing my team working without knowing I'm there! I'm INCREDIBLY happy to be able to say that I'm now only receiving about 30% of the Universal Credit support I was previously on - whilst I certainly couldn't have survived without the government assistance, I am lucky that with the support of my employer I am regaining at least my financial independence.Unfortunately, my health has deteriorated significantly in the last few months. I have 3 vertebrae in my lower back which are pretty much shattered from a combination of trauma, stress fractures and bone degeneration (I've suffered malnutrition on and off since my teens/early 20s, and certain medication I've been on has contributed to early onset osteoporosis) and despite beginning treatment with Fentanyl patches in July this year, I am unable to do anything that involves bending, twisting, standing for longer than 10 minutes - and even then if I can lean on something like the kitchen counter. So I am going to have to continue claiming PIP in order to pay for the lady who comes in to clean and tidy my flat for me, I'm unable to even go down the 7 steps to the street to put out rubbish! Again I am very lucky though, she goes far above and beyond what most cleaners would and does things like arranging the tins in the cupboard by type and taking a photo so I'm not hunting for things, she brought little cardboard boxes to make ‘drawers’ in them so I could easily reach small packets on the shelves, she is a god send - quite literally as I was put in touch with her through a mutual acquaintance at our church! Since I'm getting worse though I need her help more often, so much as I'd like to go back to being financially independent I need to continue claiming PIP at least - but it's not something I can change and I know that I needn't feel guilty over a genuine need, hopefully one day I'll believe myself!!

The Office of the President of the US is one of the most powerful offices in the world. There are many things President Trump can do, by the powers vested in him by us, the people of the United States. Abolishing the H1B visa is a long-winded legislative process, which the President can initiate, technically speaking, but largely has an unpredictable outcome. However in the short term, the President can make it very restrictive for H1B workers through Executive Orders for renewals and benefits. What will be the impact of such actions? Unfortunately everything in life cannot be statistically modeled or simulated, but there are some common-sense fait-accompli consequences of a drastic action like abolishing H1B:The US economy has grown highest from 1950s till 1990s and has become a global superpower because of technology and innovation. Immigration of highly skilled workers has contributed largely to the US economy (US has been the most preferred destination for tech workers - principle: excellence breeds excellence). Tech startups and companies in the US have become worldwide successes, and that in turn attracts brighter minds to immigrate here. They have not only contributed through employment but they have founded companies that have enhanced the livelihood of millions. Cases in point: Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Shahid Khan, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim, Vinod Khosla, etc. Protectionist laws will only turn away future great minds from creating new products, innovations and technology breakthroughs that is key to pushing the country forward.H1B visa holders constitute approximately 1 million workers (less than 0.3% of our population), who, research has pointed out, contribute positively to our GDP, pay into our tax system, medicare / medicaid, and create highly educated future generation (Gen 0 or 1). The economic impact of abolishing will be extreme: there are few highly skilled American tech workers, and they will now come at a premium (all things remaining constant, that there is no provision made to enhance tech skills for the masses). Small businesses and corporates surviving on thin margins will cease to be profitable and will have to go out of business. Or they will have to move corporate HQs abroad or outsource. If this decision of abolition of H1B was a corporate decision, the statistical comparison of an upside / downside to this extreme action makes it unworthy of any consideration. I daresay there’re bigger problems we face today.While there are many benefits of H1B visa for the US economy, the H1B system certainly does need reform to ensure higher levels of productivity and reduce misuse. Some are detailed below;Vet credentials and achievements of highly skilled workers, and the gaps that they fill, before granting H1Bs in the first place, so we know the best and brightest are coming to the US.Immigration: Today the US allows many different routes for immigration such as family, investment, diversity and highly skilled workers (H1B). H1B visas are “dual-intent” visas: the holders can apply for Permanent Residence. If highly skilled tech workers is what is targeted, why restrict country-wise? Let all nationalities compete evenly on the basis of SKILLS. Why not make it a level playing field? While we want the best and the ‘cream of the crop’ let the toughest and brightest get in.Minimum wage: I do believe in free markets. However, in the interest of fewer applications to process on the already overloaded USCIS, adding a minimum threshold of $100,000 or like can ensure senior and skilled workers are prioritized for hiring.Grant EADs to I-140s, making job-mobility easier so the onus is on the companies to hire the best talent, pay them market rates and look towards increasing overall productivity. If mobility of workforce is ensured, then companies will naturally hire more qualified Americans (benefit: less paperwork). This will also stop companies from holding H1B workers hostage by paying them cheaper due to non-mobility, and the exploitation by consulting and outsourcing companies. What happened to the Republican principles of free enterprise and less-Government anyway?US Masters candidates: Why not? I agree there are plenty of universities around the world that are excellent. If we are going to hire skilled workers from everywhere, why can’t Masters degree holders from the US get an extra brownie point? Atleast US universities will benefit, and it will contribute to the GDP.Create ongoing training program for American citizens so they can keep skills up-to-date to compete on a global platform. Perhaps Fed and State Governments can have a skills-upgradation program for unemployed workers, or perhaps some of our spending can be directed towards coal-workers and blue-collar workers who have lost their jobs due to automation, to go to community colleges to train to become technicians and laboratory workers, etc. - you get the idea. How about some positive reinforcement to move forward the American economy?Most actions can always be reversed, such as immigration rules, industrial waste dumping policies or financial safety provisions. However some repercussions may be permanent and may have lasting impact: such as the reversal of the US from a global superpower into a has-been economy. Good reason to get fully into details and analyze all angles before a severe action like H1B abolition.

Assisted housing/living has proven to be a highly beneficial arrangement for seniors who need minimal to moderate support. There are four main areas in which assisted living facilities surpass the benefits of other options (private home care, or nursing home). Assisted living offers these clear advantages:Minimal intervention, greater self- efficacy. This means that residents enjoy independence to a greater degree when provided with the minimal support needed for food, transportation and basic medical care. Both health outcomes and social relations were highest in assisted settings where seniors felt independent yet supported. Overall quality of life measures were highest here.Social relationship and recreational options. Abundant research points to the mental, emotional and physical health benefits that come from social contact and participation. Those seniors who live in private homes did not have the daily opportunities for quality interaction, social support and activity. Nursing homes, with high care services, were less focused on social needs.Minimized hazards and Individualized Accommodations. The assisted setting is designed to enhance mobility and participation. Fewer accidents are reported here than in private home settings. The individual needs and changing requirements of residents can be easily met, unlike private home living.Rapid Response. The daily health concerns and emergency situations of seniors receive rapid attention in assisted settings.When compared with private home and nursing home living, the seniors in assisted living facilities proved to be more active, demonstrated greater self-efficacy, worked harder at trying to be self-reliant, enjoyed better health outcomes, and rated higher in overall quality of life.