CDS attendant Mary Jo Tapp provides reliable and kind support.
We would like to shine a spotlight on attendant Mary Jo Tapp.
Mary Jo has worked for her sister (a MERIL CDS participant) for 10 years, and the participant said she values their close relationship.
“Mary Jo cares for me,” she said. “More than that though, she cares for everyone and tries very hard to be as helpful and kind to everyone she meets. She is a very kindhearted person.”
In addition to Mary Jo’s compassion, the participant said she respects her integrity.
“Mary Jo is very honest,” she said. “She always comes back from an errand with a receipt so that I can keep track of my finances. She is my sister and she loves me, so I know she’d never be anything less than honest with me, but her honesty is very admirable.”
Like all CDS attendants, Mary Jo provides personal care services so the participant can live independently in her own home.
“Mary Jo helps me with the things that my heart condition and my arthritis keep me from doing,” the participant said. “Mary Jo helps me with little things like putting my socks on and keeping my hair neat and clean. Mary Jo also helps me with things like taking a bath and makes sure I am safe while doing so. There are times also, when I need her to go to the store or around town paying bills for me and she does these things for me too.”
Jay Claywell, the MERIL CDS specialist who works with the participant, said Mary Jo and the participant are a great team.
“This participant/attendant pairing have been together longer than I have worked at MERIL,” he said. “Over the course of my tenure at MERIL, I have seen the participant’s health and mobility ebb and flow as the years have passed. Sometimes, simple things like the weather get in her way, slowing her down. Despite the participant’s challenges, the constant in her life has been her sister, CDS attendant, Mary Jo Tapp. Mary Jo and the participant work together to ensure that the participant’s CDS service plan is delivered in such a way that her independence is maintained at a level that the participant has grown accustomed to over the last decade. This pair is a shining example of the effectiveness of the CDS and IL programs here at MERIL.”