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December 13, 2006
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In This Issue:
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A Road Map for Research on the Direct-Care Workforce
A new report published by the National Clearinghouse on the Direct
Care Workforce maps out directions for future research on the
long-term care workforce. According to the researcher consulted,
studies should be designed to focus on "rebalanced" delivery systems,
supplement what's known about the direct-care workforce through
theory and expertise from other disciplines, and affect state and
federal policy and provider practice.
For
Conversations about the Future of Direct-Care Workforce Research,
Vera Salter (pictured below) and Mary Ann Wilner interviewed 20
leading researchers with an interest in the long-term care
direct-care workforce. Researchers identified potential research
topics and methods that could inform and strengthen the movement for
quality jobs and quality care. Their report outlines broad goals and
specific topics for inclusion in a future research agenda.
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Recent Additions
Click here
to see more of what's new in the Clearinghouse.
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A Letter to the Lege
The Michigan Long Term Care Reform Coordinated Campaign is sharing
its vision, which includes affordable health care coverage for
direct-care workers, with every lawmaker in the state.
Before last month's election, the campaign sent a letter to every
legislative candidate for all 110 of Michigan's representative seats
and all 36 of its senatorial ones. The letter underlined the need for
legislative long-term care reform in the 2007-08 session and called
for four reforms, including "respect[ing] and honor[ing] front line
caregivers by ensuring a decent wage and securing health care
benefits."
The group, which consists of provider groups, Michigan's AARP
affiliate and other consumer groups, and advocates "united in support
of meaningful long term care reform," plans to send a follow-up
letter to all of the state's newly elected representatives before
next session starts in January.
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More Information
Click here to read more from and
about the HCHCW campaign.
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Men Do Their Share of Care, Study Says
The notion that women provide the lion's share of unpaid caregiving
is a myth, says a recent story in the Los Angeles Times.
According to
Caring is a Man's Job Too,
a recent study from the MetLife Mature Market Institute and the
National Alliance for Caregiving finds that men play "a crucial role
- and at significant personal cost - in providing hands-on care to
ailing relatives." In fact, two in five of the 30 million Americans
who provide 20 hours or more of home care every week for a family
member are men.
Nursing Home Stats Updated
Statistics on the number of nursing home residents, residents by
primary payer source, nursing homes, nursing homes by ownership type,
and nursing home beds nationwide have been updated by the University
of California at San Francisco. These and other data are available on
the Kaiser Family Foundation's
State Health Facts.org
website.
Job Supports Boost Productivity by Low-Wage Workers
Being given more responsibility, accountability and support makes
entry-level, hourly employees more productive, engaged, and satisfied
with their jobs, according to three new reports from the
Families and Work Institute.
The reports find that only 39 percent of low-wage and low-income
employees get some paid-time off for personal illness, compared with
79 percent of their mid- and higher-wage and -income counterparts.
How Can Employers Increase Productivity & Retention of Entry-Level, Hourly Employees?, What Do We Know About Entry-Level, Hourly Employees?,
and
What Workplace Flexibility is Available to Entry-Level, Hourly Employees?
are part of the Supporting Entry-Level, Hourly Workers project.
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Which of the following are the most effective ways to strengthen the
direct-care workforce?
Increase efforts to recruit youth: 0%
Increase efforts to recruit non-traditional populations (men,
elders, etc.): 40%
Broaden access to education funding for people who want to enter
or advance within the profession: 10%
Encourage strategic policy changes: 20%
Increase federal and foundation support for education,
recruitment and retention: 30%
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Dear Friend
How did it get to be mid-December already? And why haven't I sent
any Christmas cards yet? I hope your holidays bring you a maximum of
joy and a minimum of stress.
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Snapshot of a Growing Workforce
Industry leaders should work together to create more opportunities
for creative input and advancement for direct-care workers, according
to
Workers Who Care: A Graphical Profile of the Frontline Health and Health Care Workforce.
The report, which was published by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, provides state and national demographic data on
direct-care workers and recommends ways of attracting more people to
this "large, fast-growing and vital component of the workforce."
The report is based on 2002 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
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Hospital Transfer Costs Iowa CNA Her Job
The firing of a nursing assistant for telling a resident's daughter
that her mother wasn't getting the care she needed has the woman's
daughter--and the local paper--up in arms.
In late August, according to
an article
in the November 27 Des Moines Register, CNA Connie Rust told
89-year-old Maizie Bickley's daughter Sandra that Bickley needed
additional care, though the nurses at the nursing home where Rust
worked and Bickley lived thought Bickley was fine. On Sandra's
insistence, Bickley went to the hospital, where she was diagnosed
with "a life-threatening condition that resulted in surgery the next
day." She also suffered from pneumonia, dehydration, and a urinary
tract infection.
Rust was fired for her actions. Her employer said she had
"improperly shared confidential patient information" and violated a
written policy that says workers can be terminated for "conduct
detrimental to company operations that results in serious negative
public relations or poor customer service."
According to the paper--which also ran a November 30
opinion piece
and a December 6
column
supporting Rust--Rust was still unemployed as of late last month,
since the nursing home was the only one where she had ever worked
"and her former bosses there probably aren't giving her any positive
recommendations."
Di Findley of the Iowa CareGivers Association says her group is
"extremely concerned for the welfare of the resident and the CNA,"
although they cannot comment on this case "because we do not know all
of the details yet."
"We will be looking closely at what can be done in the way of
policy changes that will provide better protection for both workers
and residents in the future," Findley adds.
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Massachusetts Governor Withdraws Half of Promised Raise
A pair of articles in the Boston Globe skewers Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney for first vetoing a $10 a week pay raise
promised by the legislature to direct-care workers, then approving
half that amount.
"Neville Pottinger is accustomed to elected officials playing
politics with his paycheck," begins
Caregivers Pay the Price,
"but he will never understand why the first workers targeted in
budget battles on Beacon Hill so often are the ones with incomes so
low that many qualify for food stamps."
In
Great Divide is Growing,
the paper calls the cuts "as needless as they were cynical."
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Cash Prize for Alzheimer's Essay
The Alzheimer's Association is sponsoring an Advocate Essay Contest
for young people working as direct-care workers or family caregivers.
Its
Young Adult Essay Competition
offers $1,000 in cash and up to $1,500 in travel and related expenses
to a young adult (ages 18 to 25) who writes about how young
Alzheimer's advocates can make a difference.
The second-place winner will receive $500 in cash prize and a
free registration to the spring 2007 Alzheimer's Association's Public
Policy Forum, and ten finalists will receive honorable mention
certificates.
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JCAHO Invites Comment on Caregiver-Related Proposed Goals
The Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations (JCAHO) is inviting public comment on proposed 2008
national patient safety goals regarding passing medications,
communication between caregivers, and other issues involving
direct-care workers.
Click here
to read the safety goals and submit comments.
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December 15, 2006
Massachusetts Day in Iowa...Getting Serious About Health Care Reform
in Iowa, Des Moines, IA
January 22-23, 2007
Private Duty Home Care Leadership Summit, Scottsdale, AZ
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