• Adult Learner-Centered Training: An Introduction for Educators in Home and Residential Care (pdf)

Turnover among direct-care workers, especially those who are new on the job, is an ongoing issue for long-term care employers. Many factors contribute to the problem, but one workers themselves often cite, is inadequate preparation for the job.

Continue Reading

PHI’s New York Training Manager MariaElena Del Valle kicked off the Lillian and James Portman Conference this week with an opening session called “Celebrate Your Being, the Fullness of Your Heart.” The interactive session included music and storytelling and offered participants a chance to reflect, renew, and energize.

Continue Reading

New York Gov. David Patterson

Those affected most by New York Gov. David Patterson’s proposed billion-dollar budget cuts are pushing back and protesting in the streets.

The governor’s emergency deficit-reduction plan, announced this week, calls for a $572 million cut to Medicaid and other health care programs and a $1.2 billion cut next year. These funds provide the majority of funding for long-term care services and cuts will likely have a dramatic impact on both consumers and workers.

Continue Reading

Robert Kuttner

Economics writer Robert Kuttner has some advice for President-Elect Barack Obama in his new book Obama’s Challenge: America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency.

Kuttner makes a strong case for professionalizing the human services sector – jobs which are harder to outsource – to boost the U.S. economy.

Continue Reading

The Health Care Delivery System: A Blueprint for Reform, published last month by the Center for American Progress and the Institute on Medicine as a Profession, identifies key characteristics of a high-performing health system.

Specifically, the 124-page book lays out a vision for restructuring the organization, quality, and financing of the health care system, proposing policies for the next administration and Congress to enact over the next five years. Continue Reading

Voters in Washington State passed Initiative-1029 by a strong margin (73 percent in favor), approving a measure that will require 75 hours of training for most long-term care workers, an increase of as much as 41 hours, according to the Associated Press.

Workers must also now pass an exam to be certified as home care aides and undergo background checks for all levels of care.

The measure was originally intended for action in the legislature, but when lawmakers failed to act, supporters of the initiative succeeded in getting it on the ballot (see our Oct. 16 story). The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has organized the state’s personal care workforce, was behind the initiative along with several consumer organizations.

The measure will go into effect in 2010.

Aaron Toleos, Online Communications Director
atoleos@phinational.org