PHI President Steven Dawson speaks about direct-care workers at a Brookings Institution event called “Health Care Reform and Older Americans: Achieving Better Chronic Care at Lower Costs” on January 28, 2010.

Hilda Solis

A July 9 New York Times editorial calls for home care aides to receive minimum wage and overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act. As the Times notes, in 2007, the Supreme Court upheld a 1975 labor regulation that defined home care aides as “companions,” but that regulation can be reversed anytime by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. This is the second editorial the Times has published on the issue; the first appeared in January 2009. Continue Reading

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
June 24, 2009

Contact: Steve Edelstein
National Policy Director
Phone: 718-402-7413
Email: sedelstein@phinational.org

PHI Launches PolicyWorks
National Strategy Center for the Direct-Care Workforce Promotes Information, Innovation and Action

New York— By 2016, the United States will need 4 million direct-care workers to care for America’s elders and people with disabilities—more than the number of teachers needed to educate our youth in grades K-12.

Yet America is unprepared to meet this growing demand. Continue Reading

Caregiving Well Positioned to Boost Economy

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Download press release (pdf)

New York, February 4, 2009— Noting that low-income women are left out of the current economic recovery plans that focus exclusively on shovel-ready projects, PHI is asking Congress to expand its job creation program to include direct-care services for elders and people with disabilities.

In an information packet (pdf) delivered to the Hill, PHI notes that investing in direct-care jobs will: Continue Reading

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Download press release (pdf)

How Caring for Elders and People with Disabilities Can Save Our Economy

New York, December 8, 2008— As the nation seeks to bolster its sagging economy, PHI, a national leader in promoting quality direct-care jobs, has released an issue brief outlining why America should invest in its caregiving workforce. “Direct-Care Jobs and Long-Term Care: Untapped Engine for Job Creation and Economic Growth” (pdf) demonstrates that because of the sheer number of these occupations today—and their projected growth over the next decade–direct-care jobs are uniquely positioned to help repair and stabilize our faltering economy.

Continue Reading

Staff Stability Toolkit

Quality Partners Rhode Island has released a Staff Stability Toolkit that provides “how-to” tips and practical tools for nursing homes seeking to reverse turnover rates.

The premise of the guide is that staff stability is the key foundation to implementing other initiatives, quality improvements, or culture change.

The toolkit lays out an overall method and framework for increasing staff retention, discusses management practices that support stability, offers worksheets that allow facilities to gather and analyze data, and lays out options and advice on providing staff training. It also includes a case study that models the methods discussed in the toolkit.

Twelve Steps for Creating a Culture of Retention

Another recently released “how-to” guide, PHI’s 12 Steps for Creating a Culture of Retention (pdf), offers concrete steps and tools to guide agencies in developing recruitment, selection, and retention practices. The 12 steps that frame this workbook are based on the principle that direct-care workers must have quality jobs to provide the highest quality care for consumers: “quality care through quality jobs.” Intended for use by organizational leaders, the workbook encourages principles of participatory management.

Find more resources on retention at PHI’s National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce.