A Personal Care Aide is a trained caretaker, not a nurse or a medical professional. Personal Care Aides help care recipients with daily living activities and duties such as preparing meals, doing laundry, arranging transportation, house cleaning and much more.

A Registered Nurse (RN) is a licensed professional who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN). Registered Nurses are licensed to deliver proper nursing care under the direction of the care recipient’s physician.

An RN can provide nursing care, perform assessments and implement nursing interventions. Registered Nurses that work in a home care setting can administer nursing care as well as other tasks, assuring comfort and safety.

The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program or CDPAP empowers Medicaid recipients to reclaim independence and comfort, as well as to gain control over their own care. The CDPAP program allows Medicaid recipients to recruit their own Personal Assistants (PAs), thus gaining more control over their care services.

Once approved, the recipient can interview, hire, and train a personal assistant themselves. Recipients can even choose a friend or family member as their PA. However, a PA cannot be a parent caring for a child under 21, a consumer’s spouse, or a consumer’s designated representative.