Governor Deval Patrick

At a time when eldercare advocates in some states are disappointed with their governor’s budget proposals and use of funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, direct-care workers in Massachusetts are happy with this week’s announcement that Governor Deval Patrick is using $764 million of the state’s share of the recovery money to bolster hospitals, nursing homes, health centers, and group homes.

The Boston Herald reported that the March 25 announcement at a Cambridge Hospital brought terms of endearment for the governor from healthcare workers.

“It’s a great first step,” said Lindsey Tucker, manager of health reform policy at the nonprofit Health Care for All.

Patrick is giving $255 million of the stimulus funds to save jobs at government-funded hospitals, nursing homes, and mental health centers.

Robert Jenkens

Robert Jenkens was at boarding school in Exeter, New Hampshire, when, in order to fulfill community service, he chose to volunteer as a buddy to an elder in a nursing home. He soon discovered he enjoyed listening to the personal stories of those who lived there, and he marveled at their rich, interesting lives.

Still, he remembers, “Every time I walked in, I thought, ‘How can anyone live here?’ It was the last area where I saw society accepting a bad quality of life, where rights were really denied. People didn’t have the ability to make choices or lead lives the way they wanted to. I thought it was a civil rights issue.” Continue Reading

Nineteen national Jewish organizations and nearly 90 local ones have signed a letter to the U.S. Congress that urges “fiscal discipline” in crafting the FY2010 budget and singles out long-term care as one of the areas most in need of attention in the push for comprehensive health care reform.

The letter points out the Jewish community’s longstanding commitment to ending poverty and applauds “President Obama’s pledge to fix our broken healthcare system and his commitment to safeguarding funding for the most vulnerable members of our society during these unprecedented economic times.” Continue Reading

Button worn by members of the Wisconsin Long Term Care Workforce Alliance

In October PHI reported on efforts by a Wisconsin group to improve the quality of caregiving jobs in that state (“Wisconsin Launches State-Wide LTC Campaign,” October 23)

Now the Wisconsin Long Term Care Workforce Alliance has launched a grassroots campaign to promote awareness of the link between direct-care worker wages and economic growth, right when state officials are debating how to allocate funds received from the federal economic recovery package. Continue Reading

With additional Medicaid dollars flowing to the states as a result of the federal stimulus package, the race is on to figure out how this money will be spent. Here is a quick look at activities in several states:

Massachusetts

Home care advocates held a state house rally on Feb. 26 to demand clarity on how stimulus funds would be used (PHI, March 12).

Texas

In mid-March, the Texas grassroots organization American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) lobbied in the state capitol for increased pay for home healthcare workers in order to bring them to a level more competitive with institutional care workers and help reduce high turnover rates (Beaumont Enterprise, March 12).

Ohio

Gov. Ted Strickland and Department of Aging Director Barbara E. Riley are pushing the legislature to speed up rebalancing efforts to counter the increasing Medicaid costs associated with nursing home care (Dayton Daily News, March 8).

Kansas

Nearly 4,000 Kansas residents with developmental disabilities have dubbed themselves “Invisible Kansans” and are mounting a campaign to reduce waiting lists for services and increase pay for direct-care workers (PHI, Feb. 26).

According to PHI National Policy Director Steve Edelstein, “States looking to stimulate local economies, stem job loss, and stabilize low-income families will be well-served by directing additional Medicaid funds into long-term care services, especially direct-care jobs.”

Carol Rodat

PHI’s Carol Rodat has been recognized with a Social Impact Award from AARP New York.  The awards, given in honor of the AARP’s 50th anniversary, were received by 50 New Yorkers who have been champions of social change.

According to the AARP, award recipients:

“have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to enhancing the lives of New Yorkers, improving their communities, and inspiring others in the areas of financial security, health care, livable communities, images of aging, giving back, arts and entertainment, and learning.”

As New York policy director for PHI, Rodat is responsible for strategic advocacy, research, and analysis on behalf of the state’s direct-care workers and long-term care consumers, improving the health care delivery system by emphasizing the policy and practice learning derived from PHI and its affiliates. She works closely with a variety of stakeholders in New York’s health care system, including consumers, workers and their representatives, and providers.

Rodat has over 20 years of policy experience, having worked first in the field of child welfare policy for the Child Welfare League of America in Washington, D. C., and then as executive director of Hospital Trustees of New York State, where she initiated one of the first quality improvement projects in the state’s hospitals. She was also a contributing editor to Health System Leader, which studied the development of integrated health systems.

Most recently Rodat served as president of the Home Care Association of New York State, a statewide not-for-profit organization active in state and federal home care policy.