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Three brief stories on direct care:

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PHI Labor Day Editorial on FLSA Published in Numerous Outlets

Steve Edelstein

PHI National Policy Director Steve Edelstein wrote about why the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) should apply equally to all workers — including home care workers — in an editorial published over the Labor Day weekend.

Under current federal law, personal care and home care aides are explicitly excluded from the FLSA’s minimum-wage and overtime protections.

“As a result,” Edelstein writes, “the 1.7 million workers who provide loving care and assistance to our frail and disabled family members are among the most poorly paid workers in our nation.”

Edelstein’s editorial appeared in numerous media outlets, including the Black Voice News, the Union Daily Times (South Carolina), and the McDonough County Voice (Illinois).

The PHI Campaign for Fair Pay calls on Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to amend the FLSA to include home care workers.

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National Falls Prevention Day Coming Soon

On Sept. 23 — the first day of fall — 41 states will join 70 national organizations and federal agencies in recognizing the fourth annual National Falls Prevention Day.

That day, the Falls Free Initiative, a coalition lead by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), will work to teach elders and their caregivers proven methods for preventing falls, including regular physical activity, annual eye checkups, and periodic medication reviews.

Falls are the leading cause of death by injury among elders.

Last year, PHI and NCOA collaborated on a free Fall Prevention Awareness curriculum, designed to help home health aides reduce falls and minimize injury to their clients.

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Texas Station Broadcasts Report on Direct-Care Staffing

KHOU, the CBS affiliate in Houston, criticized the lax staffing standards for nursing homes in Texas in an investigative report that aired on Aug. 25.

The story’s reporter, Jeremy Rogalski, found that a toothless Texas staffing law, combined with weak state oversight of the nursing home industry, has created a substandard care environment for elders and people with disabilities.

More than one-fourth of Texas nursing homes received one star out of five in the staffing-level category on the federal Nursing Home Compare scale. (In a companion report, Rogalski explains how to use the online Nursing Home Compare tool.)

Adequate direct-care worker staffing levels are crucial to quality of care, the report states. Rogalski identifies staffing levels as “the single biggest factor — the difference-maker between quality and shoddy” care in nursing homes.

– by Matthew Ozga

This year, home health organizations have a new tool to mark the National Council on Aging‘s (NCOA) third annual Falls Prevention Awareness Day on September 23, the first day of fall.

The Fall Prevention Awareness: Enhanced Training Curriculum for Home Health Aides now augments the list of NCOA Falls Prevention Resources.

The curriculum, a joint project of PHI and NCOA that was released this spring, is available at no charge.

Meets In-Service Requirements

Uniquely designed for adult learners, the training curriculum is designed to help home health aides across the country reduce falls and minimize injury to their clients by increasing their awareness of the risk factors for common falls and enhancing their communication skills.

Participants learn to build on their existing knowledge and skills by strengthening their “observe, record, report” skills and developing communication skills that help them address with their clients how to reduce the risk of falling.

“There is no better time than Falls Prevention Awareness Day for home care leaders and managers to commit to train home health care aides on how to help their clients to prevent falls in and outside the home,” said PHI National Director of Curriculum and Workforce Development Peggy Powell.

“As the home health aides enhance their ability to view clients through a fall-prevention lens, they also learn how to reduce their own risk of falling — unfortunately, too common an occurrence in home care work.

“When home care agencies offer falls prevention education, they address an important health and safety issue for clients and aide staff alike. The PHI/NCOA Falls Prevention Awareness curriculum contains all of the materials you need to conduct an in-service training for home health aides, and it’s just a click away,” Powell said.

The downloadable course includes two three-hour sessions that employers can use to meet in-service requirements.

Leading Cause of Death by Injury

Falls are the leading cause of death by injury for older Americans. They threaten the lives, safety, and independence of older adults and have an enormous impact on the cost of health care.

“When older adults fall, it often leads to a loss of independence, reduced mobility, and earlier admission to a nursing home,” said Lynn Beattie, vice president of Injury Prevention at NCOA, and national director of the Falls Free^TM Coalition. “But the good news is, through appropriate risk management, falls are largely preventable.”

PHI is among the 70 national organizations and 31 state coalitions from 35 states that have joined the Falls Free^TM Coalition.

– by Deane Beebe

PHI and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) have launched a new partnership to provide — at no cost — a Fall Prevention Awareness curriculum for home health care workers. Read the full story