Martha Stewart segued from living to assisted living today at a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing today, talking about her experiences as a caregiver for her mother.
The hearing explored the growing shortage of geriatric care workers and the need to better support family caregivers, which was the subject of an Institute of Medicine report released two days ago.
“There is a great ‘myth’ that effectively addressing the threats of solvency and
sustainability of the Medicare Trust Fund will assure older adults access to high-quality care,” said John W. Rowe, the chair of the committee that prepared the report, at the hearing. “In fact, funding is only half of the problem: we first need to ensure that our health care workforce has the capacity, both in size and ability, to deliver the health care services that a new generation of older adults will soon need.”
Dr. Robyn I. Stone, executive director of the Institute for the Future of Aging Services, also testified (pdf), laying out five broad goals for improving the direct-care workforce.
Stewart talked about the need for better supports for elders and the family members who provide much of their care, which led her to found the Martha Stewart Center for Living at New York City’s Mount Sinai hospital, whose goal is to help elderly people live longer, healthier, productive lives. “Our aging relatives and the families who care for them yearn for basic information and resources,” she said.
All the testimonies offered at the hearing are available here (pdf) and can also be viewed via webcast on the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging website.
Elise Nakhnikian, Senior Online Editor
enakhnikian@phinational.org
Martha Stewart.
I am Yvonne Atkinson President of Presbyterian Homes in the Presbytery of Lake Erie. In our personal care we deliver $700,000 dollars of benelovent care annually. This is because in PA their is no State Sudsidy that pays to assist with the cost of care for those who do not have the funds to pay privately.
If they are poor enough they can be approved for SSI. That pays the facility about $30.00 dollars a day. This is for room, board, meals and 24-7 care. You can’t stay at Motel 6 for that. Many homes do not offer charitable/benevolent care.
We try to do our share of helping the poor who need personal care but we have to balance the budget.
Sincerely, Yvonne Atkinson
Dear Martha: Thank you for your efforts on behalf of our aging populatin, and by extension I’m sure, people with disabilities requiring lifelong extensive support.
MARC provides adult day care and vocational supports for 300 people with developmental disabilities. Even though some families are highly involved and supportive of their family member with a develoopmental disability, adult day care typically falls to hired direct care workers. It is no secret what is needed to recruit and retain compentent direct care workers: decent wages and benefits.
MARC negotiates in good faith with AFSCME Local 412 in an atmosphere of continuing public funding cuts (five years in a row now and we await announcements for 2009) that continue to reduce overall compensation to direct care workers. While we have been able to keep health insurance, the increased premium share, drug co-pays, co-insurance and now newly introduced deductibles shift costs to direct care workers at a time we should be delivering hope and confidence in the future with ever expanding need for their services.
It is painful watching the effect of layoffs and turnover on people with developmental disabilities, who must wonder what tomorrow will bring and when will they get the attention they deserve.
The long-term care system needs a responsible feedback loop so policy makers can be held accountable and correct the unintended effects of their decision making.
Please avail yourself of the opportunity to become more familiar with the needs and services for adults with developmental disabilities, your capacity as a spokesperson could engender real gains for people who largely cannot speak for themselves.
Thank you.
Richard Berling