Archive for June, 2007

Clearinghouse Director Vera Salter Steps Down

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on June 19, 2007
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June 19, 2007 - Vera Salter, PhD, Director of the National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce since its founding in 2000, left her full-time position at the end of May.

Salter built the Clearinghouse into the premier national information resource supporting the movement to improve the quality of long-term care through the creation of quality jobs for frontline workers. The Clearinghouse website currently receives as many as 40,000 visits per month.

President Steven Dawson of PHI, the parent organization of the Clearinghouse, praised Salter’s efforts: “The National Clearinghouse has become a trusted source of information and analysis for the full range of stakeholders across the field. Its library, state activities pages, best practice profiles, and worker voices provide a wealth of information to all those working to improve the quality of jobs for direct-care workers. Vera has been the driving force behind this excellent resource.”

“Vera has been a valued contributor to the PAS Center,” says Teresa Scherzer, PhD, MSW, of the Center for Personal Assistance Services at the University of California, San Francisco. “Her collaboration with the Center has contributed to the knowledge and dissemination of state- and community-based efforts to improving working conditions of personal care workers. Moreover, her warmth, humor, and positive spirit infuses her collegial relationships and makes her a valued colleague and friend.” The Clearinghouse contributes information to the PAS Center website.

Salter is now working as an empowerment coach and consultant. She will remain involved in the direct-care workforce movement as a member of the board of the Direct Care Alliance.

In the wake of Salter’s departure, PHI is reorganizing its communication department. PHI’s Director of Communications Karen Kahn will serve as the temporary director of the Clearinghouse until PHI hires an Online Communications Specialist to oversee an even more robust PHI web presence. PHI currently maintains three separate websites — www.directcareclearinghouse.org, www.coverageiscritical.org, and www.paraprofessional.org —all of which will soon be accessible through a single web portal. PHI will launch the new website, which will provide users with more advanced search and interactive capacities, in 2008.

Joe Angelelli Joins PHI: A Coalition-Builder, a Researcher, and a Passionate Long-Term Care Reformer

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June 8, 2007 - Joe Angelelli, PhD, is joining the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) as its Pennsylvania State Director. Angelelli will assume his new position on July 2.

“We are thrilled that Joe will be joining PHI,” says National Policy Director Steven Edelstein. “He is a passionate long-term care reformer who brings with him a great depth of knowledge and experience, both as a researcher and as a coalition-builder.”

Angelelli comes to PHI from the Pioneer Network, where he had served as Director of Networking and Development since 2005. “Joe brought energy, passion and expertise not only to the Pioneer Network but to the entire culture change movement,” said Bonnie Kantor, executive director of the Pioneer Network. “His new position is an exciting one, which will allow him to build on the work he did here.”

Before joining the Pioneer Network, Angelelli was an assistant professor in the Community Health and Health Policy and Administration departments of Brown University and Pennsylvania State University. He has conducted research on health care issues in long-term care and other settings and written numerous articles for peer-reviewed journals about nursing homes and the culture of aging in the United States. He earned his PhD in gerontology and public policy at the University of Southern California.

“I know Joe will do an incredible job in bringing people of the commonwealth together to improve the quality of direct care jobs and quality of care for long-term care consumers,” says Edelstein.

Montana Leads the Way in Covering Caregivers; Other States Also Explore Ways to Insure the Uninsured

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June 6, 2007 - Montana has approved a new way of providing health care coverage for health care workers. As of January 2009, the state will increase its Medicaid payments to agencies that deliver in-home care so they can purchase health insurance for a significant number of their direct-care employees.

“We applaud Montana’s ground-breaking legislation,” says Carol Regan, director of PHI’s Health Care for Health Care Workers (HCHCW) initiative. “This is part of a growing national trend that will benefit everyone who needs long-term care services — and the family members who care for them.”

The direct-care workforce in long-term care (nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care attendants, etc.) is one of the fastest-growing in the American economy. Key to keeping up with increased demand is lowering the profession’s alarmingly high turnover rates, and studies show that health insurance helps keep workers in their jobs. Yet approximately two out of every five direct-care workers lack health care coverage.

The Montana effort, called Healthcare for Montanans Who Provide Healthcare, allows employers to offer health insurance to personal care attendants and private duty nurses. The state’s budget for the coming biennium includes an additional $2.6 million to raise payments to employers who participate in Medicaid in-home care. Federal matching funds will bring the total to about $5 million a year. To receive the extra money, employers must agree in writing to spend it on health insurance for their direct-care employees, which must meet a set of quality criteria established by the state. The plan is expect to cover 1,000 currently uninsured workers. The bill was signed into law on June 1.

A separate piece of legislation also passed this year. Senate Bill 206 requires Montana’s Medicaid agencies to look into funding insurance in a similar fashion for nursing homes, developmental disability community service agencies, and other long-term care organizations.

“To me what we are doing here is a great example of how private business and government can and should work closely together to get something done and make a positive difference in people’s lives,” says Bill Woody, president of Consumer Direct Personal Care and Nightingale Nursing. “I am thrilled that the Montana Legislature has recognized the dedication of our employees, the valuable work done by in-home caregivers and the critical role that the ability to offer affordable health insurance plays in enabling businesses such as ours to recruit, hire and retain qualified workers.” Woody’s in-home care agency developed the concept paper that gave birth to the Montana insurance initiative and spearheaded the effort to secure funding from the legislature.

“Montana has taken a significant step towards ensuring the availability of a high-quality long-term care workforce now and in the future,” Woody says. “At the same time, we will all clearly reap positive social and economic benefits because more of our fellow citizens have health insurance.”

Woody, who also owns and operates in-home care agencies in Arizona, Alaska, Nevada, and New Mexico, believes other states should consider replicating or adapting Montana’s approach. “The issues that make this initiative important — the emerging crisis in the long-term care workforce and general lack of affordable health insurance — are not unique to us,” he says. “It seems to me we are all grappling with the same problems and challenges. Why not learn from each other?”

HCHCW is already working with several other states and employers who are finding new ways to cover direct-care workers. For example:

  • In Maine, HCHCW is supporting LD 1687, which would make it easier for direct-care workers and their employers to enroll in state-subsidized health insurance.
  • In Pennsylvania, HCHCW is supporting Prescription for Pennsylvania, a comprehensive bill that would expand health coverage to low-income families and workers – including many in direct-care – employed by small businesses.
  • In Michigan, HCHCW is working with a large nursing home company to make health insurance affordable and accessible for direct-care staff.

“We’re excited about the progress being made in Montana and elsewhere,” says Regan. “We look forward to working with more states as they expand health coverage to the uninsured or restructure their long-term care systems.”