Category Archives: Aging in the Workplace

Aging in the Workplace, Aging Service Provider, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Time for Solutions: Aging Services Workforce Development

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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.

Aging in the Workplace, Faith Community, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals, The Faith Community

World Alzheimer Report: Private Sector Response

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Let’s not wait for the public sector to develop plans to address the dementia crisis. The private sector can and should play a large role.

This expert is from the Alzheimer’s Disease International website referencing the World Alzheimer Report of 2019.

“The report reveals the results of the largest attitudes to dementia survey ever undertaken, with almost 70,000 people across 155 countries and territories completing the survey. It spans four demographic groups: people living with dementia, carers, healthcare practitioners, and the general public.”

Further, the analysis of the study was carried out by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Specifically, some of the key findings of the report include:

  • Almost 80% of the general public are concerned about developing dementia at some point, and 1 in 4 people think that there is nothing we can do to prevent dementia
  • 35% of carers across the world said that they had hidden the diagnosis of dementia of a family member
  • Over 50% of carers globally say their health has suffered as a result of their caring responsibilities even while expressing positive sentiments about their role
  • Almost 62% of healthcare providers worldwide think that dementia is part of normal aging
  • 40% of the general public think doctors and nurses ignore people with dementia

Call to Action for Private Sector

In addition, the report lists several calls for action, many of which rest with local, state, and national governments and agencies thereof.  However, the private sector can do a lot to address the disheartening vital findings. People are hurting, suffering, concerned, and uneducated about dementia.

Conversations at my faith community are under-way about how to minister to persons with dementia and their caregivers. Educate citizens about dementia to demystify, normalize, and create an environment of understanding and acceptance.  This is an excellent place to start.

In conclusion, call upon local experts to help start the conversation within your circle of influence and ask questions.  Success will come with each small step.

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  In addition, she is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

Aging in the Workplace, Compassionate Touch®, Dementia Live, Faith Community, Family Caregiver, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals, The Faith Community, The Family Caregiver

The Importance of Education for Informal Caregivers

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Members of the First United Methodist Church in Arlington Heights, IL attend an Eldercare Educational Program about Understanding the Continuum of Eldercare.

Today, family members and other private individuals provide the bulk of care for frail older adults. According to The National Alliance for Caregiving, approximately 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the prior 12 months.  The assigned dollar value of unpaid caregiving is a staggering $470 billion.

Informal caregivers are a critical link in the system of eldercare. The care and support that is provided delays, and may even prevent the need for institutional care. Equally, we must acknowledge the financial impact that the informal caregiving system has on our nation. Consider the increased stress on the Medicaid system without these caregivers.

The American Association of Retired Persons offers a terrific directory of resources available to family caregivers. There are many agencies, both public and private, that exist to provide resources for family caregivers. To that end, caregivers can access website links, pamphlets, resource guides, and a plethora of other informational sources.

Importance of Education for Caregivers

Yet, with all of these resources, so many family caregivers still feel lost and overwhelmed. I have observed many caregivers who don’t know what they don’t know.  In addition, it is paralyzing for them to know where to start.

Caregiver education should be a more robust component of our eldercare system.  Education that leads to increased knowledge is necessary so that people can feel empowered and access the correct resources.

Caregivers need to understand the process of aging.  As astutely stated by The Age-u-cate Training Institute, it is hard to care for someone that you don’t understand.  Consequently, when caregivers feel like they are in the dark, stress, and frustration ensues.  Therefore, helping caregivers to understand what is going on will better equip them to find the right resources and ask the right questions.  Knowledge is empowering.

To list, a sample of educational topics for caregivers:

Creating opportunities to provide knowledge will increase understanding and compassion, reduce stress, and strengthen the process of caregiving.  In addition, it will improve the relationships between caregiver and receiver.

 

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving for family and professional caregivers.  She is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

Aging in the Workplace, Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, The Faith Community, The Family Caregiver

Sandwich Generation Realities

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The sandwich generation reality is in full force as more men and women are caught in the middle of work, raising a family, and caring for their parents.

My friends and I often contemplate how we got to this point in life so fast. It wasn’t that long ago that we talked about babies, toddlers, and teenagers. Now, we find ourselves in that sandwich generation place. Our kids are older, and so are our parents. Caught in the middle of work, young adult children’s life events, and aging parents.

The aging-brain is complex, and my friends scramble to keep ahead of the curve-ball.  There are good days, and then the bad days for no apparent reason. A solution that works one day doesn’t work the next. They work hard to anticipate and prevent the next crisis.

I am often baffled to find the right words to help my friends. It is not easy to explain-away their parent’s irrational behaviors and illogical thoughts. The guilt that my friends experience as they try and make things OK for their parents is so hard to see.  My heart aches for them because they feel like they should be doing more despite the fact that they are extraordinary caregivers.

Always Parent and Child

I know from my own experience that parents don’t wish this for their children.   Parents who once provided the caregiving are now the care-receiver, however, the roles are not reversed.  My friends know that they will always be their parent’s child, and their parent isn’t a child.

Anger can also be a factor in this turbulent time. My friend shared today that her mother yelled at her for not understanding what she is going through.  That doesn’t feel good, for sure.

The remarkable thing is the resilience that my friends demonstrate. They are grateful to still have a parent in their life.  Frustration and exacerbation are factors, but bitterness and anger are not.

So what can we do for the friends among us who are in this role of elder-caregiver?  The Alzheimer’s Association has a long list of suggestions, and here are mine.

    • Listen. Let them tell you their stories- sometimes venting is just what they need
    • Avoid issuing unsolicited advice
    • Support with words of affirmation that they are doing a good job
    • Be a friend, not an expert (my lesson)
    • A brownie delivery every once in a while doesn’t hurt!

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving to private and professional caregivers.  She is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.