Saturday, November 26, 2011

Senior Boom Creates A Demand For Home Health Workers

By Jessica Marcy
WASHINGTON, D.C. - At her home health care agency here, Venus Ray quizzes 65 job applicants assembled before her: Can they cook? Do they know the right way to wash their hands? Can they safely transfer patients into wheelchairs? If they give wrong answers, speak English poorly or — God forbid — forget to turn off their cell phones, she asks them to leave.
By the end of the session, Ray has dismissed 42 of the applicants, almost two-thirds, even though she's in dire need of employees.
Ray is executive director of Health Management Inc., which employs about 410 people, including 395 home health aides. With business booming, she is constantly looking to hire more, and she holds group interviews once or twice a month.
"There's a huge demand, and it's only going to get larger as the years go by," Ray said. With the nation's aging population, she added, many people "will tell you that they are more comfortable in their home."
The demand for workers by Ray's company mirrors national trends and is fueled in part by stepped-up efforts to keep seniors and the disabled out of nursing homes. The growth is likely to pick up in coming years as the 2010 federal health law tries to reduce hospital readmissions and expands programs such as
Money Follows the Person, which encourages Medicaid recipients to receive care at home.
But experts warn that a shortage of qualified labor is looming. Workers often lack the training and support needed to properly care for patients, and poor working conditions lead to high turnover, experts say. In addition,
salaries are low: In 2009, the median national hourly wage for direct-care workers — a term that includes home health aides — was $10.58, substantially below the $15.95 median for all U.S. workers. Nearly half lived in households that received food stamps, Medicaid or other government aid, according to PHI, an advocacy group for direct-care workers.
In addition, experts say, regulations about training and background checks for direct-care workers vary across states, and often leave consumers without adequate protection.
"I see tremendous challenges on the care side and the consumer side," said Peggy Powell, national director of curriculum and workforce development at PHI, which is based in New York. "My fear, my deep concern, is that in this quick switch [to provide care at home], there is the potential for care to get worse and for the direct-care workers' job to get harder, with less support and training."

A Growing Force
There are several types of direct-care workers, and their titles often vary:
  • Certified nursing assistants provide basic clinical care such as taking blood pressure and caring for wounds. They also help with the activities of daily living such as eating, dressing and bathing. They usually work in nursing homes or assisted living facilities and have at least the 75 hours of training required by the federal government for positions at a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified facility.
  • Home health aides provide similar care but in private homes and under the supervision of a nurse or therapist. If they're employees of a home care agency, these aides also may need at least 75 hours of training because the federal requirement extends to agencies that serve Medicare and Medicaid patients.
  • Personal care aides work in the home and help with everyday activities such as bathing and also perform light housekeeping and cooking chores. There are no federal requirements for their training, which is generally minimal. About a quarter of these workers are not employed by agencies, according to PHI.

In some states, certified nursing assistants and home health aides can administer medication, although some states require that they get extra training to do that. Personal care aides cannot.
More than 3.2 million people work in direct care, according to 2008 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is 52 percent more than in 1998. Jobs in direct care are projected to account for four of every 10 new health-care jobs between 2008 and 2018, according to PHI.
'What's Your Passion?'
Venus Ray begins her group interview by asking: "Why do you want to be a home health care worker? What's your passion?"
Many describe caring for a loved one, while others say they have been drawn to the field by their deep religious faith. Latreaviette Stewart, 21, says she decided to become an aide after caring for her grandmother, great-aunts and her mother's best friend, who recently died of breast cancer. She just completed a home health aide program at the Community College of the District of Columbia.
Pamela Nfor, a 34-year-old aide from Cameroon who has a child with disabilities, says she enjoys seeing how clients, even those who are depressed and can't go out, improve under her care. "I love the job and I hate the money," she tells other applicants, who erupt in laughter.
Emotions run deep during the morning's activities. One West African woman passionately describes how God revealed her vocation to be in home health care after she prayed intensely, while another woman nearly breaks into tears when she's asked to leave after her cell phone goes off. Both women fail to pass the interview process.
Later, Ray said that she once had to dismiss an entire group of 12 applicants after all of their cell phones rang.
The applicants provide a visual snapshot of national trends. Direct-care workers are disproportionately minorities, and 23 percent are foreign-born. Almost 90 percent are female. The average age is 42, but the number of workers older than 55 is increasing rapidly, according to PHI.
To ensure a qualified workforce, experts say, it's important to increase wages, improve training and beef up licensing requirements.
"It's really important to figure out how to build career ladders for these workers so that they can advance and see this as a real career," said Bob Konrad, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We have to turn these folks into really active and engaged people in the health policy world."
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2011/august/16/direct-care-workers-in-demand-as-seniors-ranks-grow.aspx


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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Seniors Should Take the Time to Research Their Social Security Payments and Healthcare Premiums

Starting at the end of December, millions of Social Security recipients will start to see higher payments due to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase. On average, recipients will receive an increase of $39 a month. This will benefit seniors over 65 years old, disabled adults and children, and those who meet the financial limits of the Supplemental Security Income program.
COLA is tied to inflation and during 2010 and 2011 inflation was too low to warrant an increase. Before that, increases had been automatic since the adjustment had been enacted in 1975. The increase comes at a critical time for many individuals in the down economy. That said, individuals must balance this increase in payment with how their Medicare Part D premiums might fluctuate in the next year. The open enrollment period for Medicare is until December 7, 2011 to choose a 2012 plan.
Individuals who want to estimate their Social Security benefits can now do so online as the SSA no longer mails statements. The online tool will show the expected Social Security payments based on an individual's 35 highest-earning years in the U.S. workforce. Payouts are reduced if SSI claims are made before full retirement age. And, spouses are eligible for a survivor's benefit when a higher-earning spouse dies.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardkrooks/2011/11/09/seniors-should-take-the-time-to-research-their-social-security-payments-and-healthcare-premiums/

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Austin, Texas

Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Austin, Texas area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check.

If you need Home Care services in Austin, Bartlett, Bertram, Briggs, Burnet, Cedar Park, Florence, Georgetown, Granger, Holland, Hutto, Jarrell, Johnson City, Killeen, Leander, Liberty Hill, Manor, Marble Falls, Pflugerville, Round Mountain, Round Rock, Salado, Spicewood, Taylor and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Austin Home Health Care Company.  "

Need a New Turkey Cooking Method This Year?

Try this.

You cook a turkey, what, once a year? Maybe your go-to turkey-cooking method's been handed down from your grandmother; maybe you try a different recipe every year looking for a better way. I'm not saying you or your grandma are wrong, but if you're turkey is in the oven for more than two hours, you're wasting your life. Here's the best turkey recipe I've ever found, courtesy of the exhaustive test cooks and food scientists at Cook's Illustrated. Bake time: Two hours.

Friday, November 11, 2011

November is Home Care & Hospice Month: Celebrating the Spirit of Love

NAHC president Val J. Halamandaris still recalls what Mother Teresa told him when they first met. That was 26 years ago, but her words still ring in his mind. "It is an honor to meet you," she said. "You have done so much for the sick and dying. We are in the same business." But what business could that be? The question dogged him for years until they finally crossed paths again. At the time, she explained just what she meant. "In the work we do for the glory of God," she said, "I am essentially a home care and hospice nurse. We provide care wherever the poorest of the poor call home and offer a place of love when they are ready to meet God."

That time came for Mother Teresa in 1997, but her spirit is still alive at the Caring Institute in Washington, DC. Late this fall, the institute will present an exhibit featuring 25 photos of Mother Teresa by renowned photographer Michael Collopy. The exhibit, which will run through December, is a tribute to the great woman who led Halamandaris to found the Caring Institute in 1985. "Mother," Halamandaris says, "knew the best way to serve God was to care on earth for those who are ill, disabled, and dying. This exhibit celebrates her spirit and her mission" ó one that millions of caregivers still embrace.

They are the providers of home care and hospice, and they have many reasons to celebrate this Home Care & Hospice Month. They include nurses and therapists, along with homes care aides who we recognize during Home Care Aide Week from November 13 to 19. The care they give their patients has helped us advance on several fronts toward winning Americaís last great civil rights battle, one we wage on behalf of the aged, disabled, and ill.

A day may well come when home care is the heart of health care in our country, but there are obstacles ahead. Possible cuts to Medicare home health may cause agencies to operate at a loss, and proposed Medicare co-pays might lead some seniors to say "no" to home health. If this occurs, those who cannot afford to pay for private care may wind up in a hospital after going without the care they need.

Let's make sure this doesn't happen because patients do much better at home, and it costs less than care in an institution. These are among the achievements of home care and hospice that we honor this special month. We must work together all year long to surmount the roadblocks that stand in our way. We owe it to our patients to win the last great civil rights battle of our time.

It won't be an easy path, but we have Mother Teresa's example to guide us along the way. She worked long hours, gave of herself 110 percent, and believed every person mattered from birth to death. She chose what was difficult, and one of her favorite expressions was "Choose always the hardest way." This is what you as caregivers do in the challenging path you follow day in and day out. You do it to give your patients the best care in the very best place.

http://www.nahc.org/HCHPCMonth/11/

"Learn About Senior In Home Health Care in Austin, Texas Senior Helpers Provides Many services in the Austin, Texas area. We provide a full array of Home Care services for seniors and the elderly living in this beautiful area. Our Home Care Services are provided by bonded and insured employees and all employees pass a National Background check. If you need Home Care services in Austin, Bartlett, Bertram, Briggs, Burnet, Cedar Park, Florence, Georgetown, Granger, Holland, Hutto, Jarrell, Johnson City, Killeen, Leander, Liberty Hill, Manor, Marble Falls, Pflugerville, Round Mountain, Round Rock, Salado, Spicewood, Taylor and the surrounding areas we are an excellent choice with impeccable references. Home Health Care for your elderly loved ones is never an easy choice but we can promise we will do our best to make it as painless as possible. From our family to yours we sincerely thank you for considering Senior Helpers of Austin Home Health Care Company. "