How DSPs Maintain the Highest Standards of Care at Rainbow Commons ICF
Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week: A Series
Meet the multi-faceted DSPs that make up Citizens Options Unlimited
Meet Lydia Myltidor and Guerda Leger, both DSPs at Rainbow Commons Intermediate Care Facility (ICF). Lydia has worked as a MedDSP for 3 and a half years and currently also works in a nursing home. Guerda has been a DSP for 7 years and had previously worked as a nurse aide for 13 years.
“Being a DSP, I feel so good in my skin because I love to give them care,” Guerda said. 
Working in an ICF group home is slightly different than your average group home, referred to as an Individual Residential Alternative (IRA). ICF DSPs provide more intensive medical supports and supervision to assist people with underlying health conditions that require more medical care.
ICF DSPs are trained to use assistive supports, like full transfers with Hoyer lifts. They administer medications, clean and bandage wounds, and have a 2-hour schedule for rotating people in beds and wheelchairs to prevent bed sores and other injuries.
They have a schedule to monitor a person’s vitals like blood pressure, oxygen, temperature, and weight. They also work closely with a larger support team including nurses, therapists, nutritionists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists.
“We’re here every day for them,” Guerda said.
There’s more paperwork, reports, and precautionary procedures in place to ensure the health and safety of the people they support.
“You always have to be looking because how they feel can change fast,” Lydia said.
They must quickly report any changes to the people they support’s daily behavioral and medical health and act fast to prevent a decline in health.
“Some of them can be good in the evening at bedtime and by the next morning, we are filling out reports and heading to the doctors or hospital,” Guerda said. “We first must call the nurse and then if we have to, we call 911.”
However, just like any other group homes, they also provide daily care and comfort, prevent injury and accidents, maintain the home with pride, and ensure that each weekend they create enriching community outings.
“I really do like to help people,” Lydia said. “When I’m doing it, when I’m taking care of people, I always do it with my full heart.”