Category Archives: Hospital Professionals

Time for Solutions: Aging Services Workforce Development

We must build the future aging service workforce NOW.

Aging Services providers are screaming from the mountain tops about the workforce crisis.   Could it be that policy makers are finally listening?

The workforce crisis is about the inability of aging services providers to fill open positions and the lack of competitive wages.

Most definitely,  a hopeful headline announced President Biden’s plan investing billions to build an aging services workforce.  

The Value of Excellence in Elder Care

The time is right to seriously discuss the value of quality Elder Care in the United States.  In addition, it is imperative that we intensify  advocacy for improvements to strengthen services and supports for consumers.  Moreover,  we must enhance jobs for 4.6 million home care workers and nursing assistants.

With this in mind, the ethical and philosophical questions to examine include:

  • Does our system act in such a way to produce a greater amount of good over harm?
  • Do we maximize utility- the sum of the benefits produced minus the costs (dis-benefits)?
  • Do we have a system that we all want for ourselves?
  • Fidelity- have we kept our promise, and are we forsaking the well-being of our elders?
  • Have we assigned an appropriate societal value to the work provided by personal caregivers?

Next Steps

PHI is an organization on the front lines of advocacy for the aging services workforce.  To that end, PHI works to transform eldercare and disability services to foster dignity, respect, and independence—for all who receive care, and all who provide it.  Additionally, as the nation’s leading authority on the direct care workforce, PHI promotes quality direct care jobs as the foundation for quality care.

AGE-u-cate Training Institute® is excited to host Robert Espinoza, VP Policy, PHI for our next Virtual Road Trip.  Mr. Espinoza will discuss how we can advocate for improvements to enhance jobs for 4.6 million home care workers and nursing assistants.

Please join us Wednesday, April 21 at 1:00pm CST.  No cost registration here. 

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a the Director of Grants and Consulting Projects and a Certified Master Trainer with AGE-u-cate Training Institute. In addition, she is an instructor and of Gerontology and Leadership in Aging Services at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

REVEAL Aging: The New Generation of Workforce Education

The Aging Services Industry faces a triple-whammy when it comes to workforce turnover and retention.

The first hit is the massive turnover that occurred and continues to occur because of the pandemic.   Second,  the turnover is on top of existing unfillable vacant positions.  Thirdly, there are new entrants into the field who have no prior experience caring for older adults.

We don’t want just warm bodies.  Yet, providers had to scurry and pull from every corner to get to bare staffing requirements.  Now, providers hang on hope that the good employees will not jump ship as the pandemic fades.  What are we to do about this massive issue?

Much of the focus will continue to  be on recruiting new employees, and rightly so.  However, great attention needs to be given to how to keep the new, good employees.  At the same time, it is critical to also maintain the spirit and engagement of the seasoned employees.

Recruitment and Retention:  Hand in Hand

I’m going to add a fourth whammy, and it is the scarcity of available time for employee training and education.

Time- nobody has it.  Not the Administrator, Director of Nursing or Human Resources Director.  So, how can we provide meaningful, affordable, and time-efficient education for employees?

While providers were on the front lines scraping for survival, AGE-u-cate Training Institute tackled these foreseeable  issues and developed a responsive and feasible employee education strategy.

Pam Brandon, AGE-u-cate’s Founder and President has unveiled REVEAL Aging:  The next generation of aging services employee education and training delivery that works.

The REVEAL Aging content focuses on improving quality of life and quality of care.  Each device friendly course consists of micro-learning segments of approximately ten minutes each.

This method provides on the spot learning that boosts engagement, closes skills gaps and fosters practical applications in the workplace.  Furthermore, content is compatible on smart phones, I-Pads and desk tops, making it accessible for all employees.

“The content gets to the core of what it takes to understand the aging process, and promote quality of life.  The topics are universal for all departments.  It is important that everyone working with older adults possess a deep understanding and elevate empathy.”  Pam Brandon, President, Founder AGE-u-cate Training Institute.

Learn more about REVEAL Aging in this 30-minute webinar, and by visiting the AGE-u-cate website.

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is  the Director of Grants and Consulting Projects and a Certified Master Trainer with AGE-u-cate Training Institute. In addition, she is an instructor and of Gerontology and Leadership in Aging Services at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

Home Sweet Home: Transforming Aging in Place

 

This is where people want to be.. home. It is time to examine changes needed for people stay safe and well with availability of appropriate care and services.

The Home Health/Care Industry quickly stepped up to the plate during the COVID pandemic.  The demand for services ballooned almost over-night, and providers responded with a fierce determination to serve those in need.

The challenges were not that different from long term care.  However, one might argue they were a bit more challenging due to the remote nature of the workforce.

COVID testing and protocol training required an enormous amount of coordination.  Another challenge was the lack of testing for the home-bound elders, and discovering that in desperation for care,  dishonesty of symptoms was a factor.

Transforming Aging in Place

There is no question that most people in need of care assistance wish to remain at home, for as long as possible.  The reality is that meeting this societal expectation is nearly impossible, for many reasons.

Workforce.  The United States is not investing in building a sustainable workforce.

Regulation.  The current regulations constrain homecare service delivery.  In Illinois, the Home Health/Services regulations were last updated in 2006.  This is a likely scenario in other states as well.

Training.  It is time to update content and delivery methods to meet the needs of a remote workforce.

Join in a round-table conversation with Susan Scatchell, Business Development Director of Gentle Home Services and Pam Brandon, President and Founder, AGE-u-cate.  Susan and Pam will discuss the challenges and opportunities to transform the experience of aging in place.

Register here for Home Sweet Home:  Transforming Aging in Place.  Wednesday, March 17, 1:00pm CST.

We hope you are able to join the discussion and help to re-imagine the future of this vital industry.

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a the Director of Grants and Consulting Projects and a Certified Master Trainer with AGE-u-cate Training Institute. In addition, she is an instructor and of Gerontology and Leadership in Aging Services at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

The Impossible: Doing the Hard Things with Resilience

Alan Packer said, “We can do hard things—it’s the impossible that takes a little longer.” Well, we have been doing hard things for quite a while now. In fact, it seems that we are in the ‘impossible’ phase now. Truly, I believe we have been working on accomplishing the “impossible” for quite some time now, aided by resilience.

Who are WE?

‘We’ are made up of health care workers, direct and indirect care workers in long term care. ‘We’ also includes essential workers in service industries, people who have lost their jobs or are currently furloughed, and those who are balancing work and family responsibilities.

The ‘we’ also includes all of us when we wear masks, wash our hands repeatedly, and remain socially distant. ‘We’ are making sacrifices.

To be honest, some of us are definitely being called to make more sacrifices than others. People working in nursing homes, assisted living, hospitals and hospice, to name a few. Not only are they giving it their all at work, they also sacrifice time with family and interactions with loved ones.

How do they do it?

Keeping up and keeping on is one of those hard things. One of the ways to keep on keeping on is through resilience.

What is resilience?

Resilience is the capability to spring back into action, to recover quickly after adversity. In physics, Merriam Webster defines resilience as ‘the ability of an elastic material (such as rubber or animal tissue) to absorb energy (such as from a blow) and release that energy as it springs back to its original shape.” If that doesn’t describe essential workers, especially those in the health care and long term care industries, I don’t know what does.

How to Build Resilience

You can’t give energy after something happens if you have no energy to spare. Self care goes a long way in helping to build resilience.

Having some control in your environment also contributes to maintaining resilience. Genetics and engaging in healthy habits play a role in building resilience. The National Alliance on Mental Illness has additional suggestions and ideas on resilience.

In the meantime, thank you to those still fully engaged in caring for the mental and physical health of others. Please keep on doing the hard things. “We” appreciate you.

Kathy Dreyer, Ph.D., is an Advisor at AGE-u-cate® Training Institute, which develops and delivers innovative research-based aging and dementia training programs such as Dementia Live® and Compassionate Touch®, for professional and family caregivers; kathy.dreyer@ageucate.com