|
May 25, 2006
|
|
In This Issue:
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Speak, Memory
In this
elegiac essay,
recreation aide Amaury Rodriguez pays tribute to Mr. Kopel, a
resident of his nursing home who became a close friend, and tells of
the effect Mr. Kopel's death had on him. Writing of the constant
flood of losses that are an inescapable part of his job, Rodriguez
says: "People like Mr. Kopel teach us the meaning of perseverance,
but they also teach us that painful memories never go away."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
House Hears Testimony on Long-Term Care Challenges
The need for respite care for family caregivers and the importance of
building and supporting a stable paid direct-care workforce were
among the topics discussed on Capitol Hill on May 17, when the House
Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on
long-term care. The hearing focused on the difficulty for many
Americans of accessing appropriate and affordable long-term care, so
much of the testimony focused on Medicaid, long-term care insurance,
and other methods of paying for care. However, the talk also turned
to the cost of caregiving. Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA.), chairman of the
subcommittee, cited an estimate that friends and family donated
approximately $218 billion worth of long-term care services in 1997,
and Joshua Weiner of RTI International noted that the nation faces a
shortage of high-quality long-term care workers. "What we are seeing
today," said Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health
Insurance Plans, "is an imbalance between the reality of long-term
care needs in America and the continued focus on acute care."
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Friend
Our readers help us spread the word about direct-care issues by
reprinting items from Quality Jobs/Quality Care in their own
publications or forwarding whole issues to their colleagues. If you
haven't already done so, we hope you'll do the same if you read
something here that you want to share.
To forward the newsletter, click the "Send to a Colleague" link
in the upper right-hand corner. If you reprint an item, just be sure
to credit it as having come from
Quality Jobs/Quality Care.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Article Galvanizes Support for Nursing Home Staffing Bill
An article in the June issue of Ladies Home Journal about the
link between understaffing and poor care in nursing homes has spurred
a nationwide petition drive in favor of H.R. 4293, also known as the
Nursing Home Staffing Act of 2005.
The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), calls
for nursing homes to increase staff to the levels identified in a
2002 report to Congress
as the minimum necessary to provide good care.
The article, which appeared in the magazine's "Family Front"
department, included a petition readers could fill out and mail in to
register their support for the bill. The
petition can also be
accessed online.
|
 |
|
|
Wisconsin Forms Caregiver Association
A new state professional association for direct-care workers, the
Wisconsin Association for Caregiver Excellence (WACE), was launched
this month.
According to a
news release
from the organization, its main focus will be worker education.
"We're taking a university approach to this," said Jackie Hauser, the
chair of the WACE board of directors. "The technical and clinical
skills will be taught, of course, but we'll also offer education in
career development, leadership skills, work-place interactions, and
employer-employee relations. These are professional care givers, and
they deserve support that reflects their importance to Wisconsin. We
intend WACE to become the focal point of that support."
The association is currently seeking an executive director.
|
|
|
|
|
Article Calls for More Research and Initiative to Bolster Quality Jobs
An article in the Winter 2006 issue of Generations calls for
increased attention and policy initiatives to bolster the quality and
supply of direct-care workers.
In
Linking Services to Housing: Who Will Provide the Care?,
author Robyn Stone notes: "the severe shortage of direct-care workers
that began in the late 1990s has been the primary trend influencing
the current wave of concern about the long-term-care workforce." High
vacancy and turnover rates, Stone adds, have a negative effect on
providers, consumers, and workers.
The article argues that more analysis is needed of the workforce,
and that strategies designed to enhance the recruitment and retention
of direct-care workers need to be examined and tweaked. Stone also
says new ways must be developed to create pools of workers who can
meet the demand for housing with services.
The theme of the winter issue is "Supportive Housing for an Aging
Society."
|
|
|
|
|
State Regulations Vary Widely for Adult Day Services
A review of state regulations of adult day services finds significant
variation in approaches.
Regulatory Review of Adult Day Services: Final Report
tracks state regulations of licensing, required services, staffing
and training requirements, monitoring, and other aspects of adult day
care. Most states specify minimum staff-to-participant ratios,
ranging from 1:4 to 1:10. Many also include provisions for care of
patients with greater needs - most often those with dementia.
Virtually all states require both initial and ongoing staff
training. These vary from minimal and general to specific
requirements regarding the type of training and the number of hours
necessary.
|
|
|
|
|
Linking Pay-for-Performance to Staffing
Creating effective pay-for-performance incentives in long-term care
is not easy, but the most promising method may be rewarding
organizations that score well on workforce measures such as staffing
levels, according to a report from the Better Jobs Better Care
research and demonstration project.
Linking Payment to Long-Term Care Quality: Can Direct Care Staffing Measures Build the Foundation?
describes the challenges involved in designing effective incentives
to reward providers who can demonstrate better quality and discusses
how to design a system of rewarding for workforce-based measures such
as staffing levels, training, quality of supervision and teamwork,
leadership and organizational culture, salaries and benefits, and job
satisfaction.
While noting that more studies are needed to determine which of
these measures corresponds most closely to care quality, the report's
executive summary
says: "consensus is building among provider organizations, consumer
advocates, and worker associations that direct-care staffing measures
may be a better starting point for linking payment to quality, until
case-mix adjustment techniques and other technical issues make
patient outcome measures more reliable."
|
|
|
|
|
How Policymakers ...
A new report on partnerships between business and industry that allow
low-wage workers to obtain new job skills highlights a career ladder
initiative for direct-care workers as a successful example.
Such partnerships are a "promising" way for state and local
governments to help low-wage workers advance - and to help business
create and keep good jobs - according to
Wising Up: How Government Can Partner With Business to Increase Skills and Advance Low-Wage Workers.
The 52-page report, which was produced by the Center for Law and
Social Policy, identifies the three most common models:
- Incumbent worker and customized training programs;
- Career ladders or pathways; and
- State skills certificates and panels.
It also examines initiatives - including Massachusetts' Extended
Care Career Ladders Initiative - that illustrate the potential of
these models and recommends ways of forming effective partnerships.
|
|
|
|
|
.. and Employers Can Help Low-Wage Workers Advance
A new guidebook on how to implement a career ladder model endorsed by
the U.S. Department of Labor is now available online free of charge.
How Career Lattices Help Solve Nursing and Other Workforce Shortages in Healthcare
describes key components of the pilot program for the Nursing Career
Lattice Model, which is intended to address nursing shortages by
providing advancement opportunities for CNAs, among other approaches.
The guidebook describes recruitment practices, progressive
advancement, flexible training approaches, apprenticeship programs,
and workplace supports for trainees. It also outlines lessons learned
and includes a step-by-step guide to creating a career lattice,
complete with sample forms and other resources.
|
|
|
|
|
Nursing Home Staff Describe Their Culture Change Journey
A nursing assistant and three other staff members from one Ohio
nursing home will tell the story of its culture change journey in a
web-based seminar, or webinar, next week.
"Nursing Home Setting: No Excuses! How One Nursing Home Made
Culture Changes Despite Barriers" will present the story of Eliza
Jennings, a skilled nursing facility in the Greater Cleveland area.
Despite its old buildings, high staff turnover, lack of money for
remodeling or new programs, and low organizational tolerance for
risk, the home made several significant improvements to its culture,
including developing neighborhoods; improving procedures for
medication administration, meals, and bathing; and reducing staff
turnover.
Executive Director Mark Beggs, Household Coordinator and STNA
(state tested nursing assistant) Linda Shear, and others will tell
their stories on May 30 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
Click here
to register.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
June 15-20, 2006
Nursing Assistants Week is sponsored by the National Network of
Career Nursing Assistants
August 2, 2006
The Pioneer Network's 6th National Conference, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
