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PHI and Pittsburgh’s United Cerebral Palsy/Community Living and Support Services (UCP/CLASS) this week kicked off a Southwestern Pennsylvania demonstration program to promote relationship-centered care for elders and people living with disabilities in need of home and community-based services and supports. Read the full story

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 21, 2009 Read the full story

Tracy Lawless speaking to Congressman Jason Altmire

Last week, advocates attended a community forum to discuss health care reform with Congressman Jason Altmire (D-PA), a “Blue Dog” Democrat who represents the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh and  rural areas covering 6 counties in western Pennsylvania.

Among the forum attendees was Tracy Lawless, Pennsylvania Campaign Coordinator for PHI’s Health Care for Health Care Workers campaign.

“We have an opportunity to make real changes to impact the long-term care industry and the consumers that rely on direct care workers each day,” Lawless said of currently proposed health care reform legislation.  “Simply said, a health care system that is good for direct-care workers is good for America.”  Read the full story

“How do you measure ‘person-centered’?” asks Jennifer Martchek, acting director for the Southwest Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging (SWPPA). The question is not rhetorical. “Obviously, some of it is subjective,” she says, “but we have developed a formal guide that will allow people to evaluate regulations, proposals, and initiatives for long-term care in order to expose contradictions and inadequacies, and realign things toward person-centered principles.”

She is talking about SWPPA’s recently published document, “Principles of the Ideal Long Term Living System for Pennsylvania’s Older Adults” (pdf), which was formulated by SWPPA’s Futures Workgroup and has already been distributed to all 253 members of the state legislature. Read the full story

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An innovative program in Pennsylvania is giving state officials a firsthand look at the daily lives of direct-care workers and broadcasting the message that these workers suffer from low wages and a lack of health insurance.

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by Jill Tabbutt-Henry, PHI Curriculum Manager

“I thought it was great!”

“Wonderful sessions, flowed well. I felt very supported in my learning…”

“Appreciated the plain-speaking, direct approach.”

These enthusiastic comments come from a group of staff educators and administrators from home care agencies, disabilities support organizations, and a community college in western Pennsylvania who recently spent three days learning how to use the adult learner-centered approach to provide entry-level training for direct-care workers. Read the full story