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Advocates for quality direct-care jobs don’t usually find their issues on the ballot, but voters in the state of Washington are being asked to weigh in this year.

The Olympian reports that Initiative 1029—which calls for increased training of workers who provide long-term medical care—is one of the more surprising issues on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

The initiative was originally intended for the legislature, but when lawmakers failed to act, supporters took the issue directly to the people. They collected 300,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

Read the full story

On October 6, a story by the Philadelphia Inquirer examined the challenges faced by Karen Goroncy (pictured left), a 51-year-old home health aide in Pennsylvania without health coverage.

The next day, Garrison Keillor (pictured below), best known for his radio show “A Prairie Home Companion” and his stories of Lake Wobegon, referenced Goroncy’s situation in a a story for his nationally syndicated column.

Keillor commented in his usual folksy way:

“In Philly, a woman earns $10.30/hour to care for a man brought down by cystic fibrosis. She bathes and dresses him in the morning, brings him meals, puts him to bed at night. It’s hard work lifting him and she has suffered a painful hernia that, because she can’t afford health insurance, she can’t get fixed, but she still goes to work because he’d be helpless without her. There are a lot of people like her. I know because I’m related to some of them.”

As the crisis in long-term care grows in severity, it’s encouraging to see the plight of direct-care workers drawing the focus of media and to see the importance of direct-care work being publicly recognized. Public recognition of the problem is an important step along the path to achieving the fundamental change we all know is necessary if America is to be prepared to meet the challenges presented by its rapidly aging population.

Aaron Toleos, Online Communications Director
atoleos@phinational.org

Last week, PHI submitted — and asked you to submit — the following question to the Oct 7 “town hall” presidential debate:

By 2016, we will need a million more direct-care workers to care for our elders. But direct-care jobs pay poverty wages and have massive rates of turnover. How will you ensure that America has a workforce that is prepared to care for its aging population?

Thank you to everyone that followed through with this request. Unfortunately, the question was not asked.

Keeping the Pressure On

This week, PHI is encouraging readers to submit the question directly to the presidential candidates through their websites at BarackObama.com and JohnMcCain.com.

Please copy and submit our question from above or formulate your own. If you need ideas for the latter, I recommend taking a look at the following PHI resources:

• National Policy Agenda: Quality Assurance (pdf)
• National Policy Agenda: Training & Support (pdf)
• National Policy Agenda: Wages & Benefits (pdf)

The final presidential debate is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15, at Hofstra University. The host will be Bob Schieffer.

Aaron Toleos, Online Communications Director
atoleos@phinational.org

The Oct. 7th “Town Hall” debate between presidential candidates Obama and McCain is accepting questions from the public. All questions will be forwarded to moderator Tom Brokaw for consideration.

PHI submitted the following question:

By 2016, we will need a million more direct-care workers to care for our elders. But direct-care jobs pay poverty wages and have massive rates of turnover. How will you ensure that America has a workforce that is prepared to care for its aging population? Read the full story

AARP has published responses from Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain to a series of questions about long-term care, health care reform, and other issues affecting older Americans. The three discussed in the long-term care section are:

1. Increasing consumer choice and control for people needing long-term care;
2. Improving standards and incentives for quality care; and
3. Providing family caregiving initiatives, such as respite.

AARP routinely surveys presidential and state-level candidates to let its members know where the candidates stand. In addition to submitting a written response, the candidates may check a box indicating whether they support or oppose the proposed public policy initiative. A third box shows AARP’s position. McCain provided narrative responses to the questions but didn’t check any of the boxes. Obama checked the boxes as well, aligning with AARP’s position on all three of the long-term care questions.

AARP’s 38 million members are a potent political force. They tend to pay close attention to issues that affect them, and they vote in big numbers.

Elise Nakhnikian, Senior Online Editor
enakhnikian@phinational.org

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Tuesday night at the Democratic Convention in Denver, I saw a special speaker take the floor around 6:15. Her name is Pauline Beck, and she is a home care worker in Oakland, California.

A year ago, Barack Obama spent a day on the job with Pauline, as part of the SEIU’s Walk a Day in My Shoes initiative. Pauline, who referred to the candidate as “my friend,” spoke passionately about her belief in his ability to change America and help people like herself. “I’ll never forget the day I spent working with Senator Obama, and I know he won’t either,” she said.

“My job is to help people, and I love my job, but being a home care worker is hard,” Pauline told the delegates. “The wages are low, the hours can be long, and the work can be physically challenging…. Workers need a president who stands up for us.”

As the energy and anticipation spread through the crowd, it was thrilling to see a direct-care worker take on such a prominent role. The fact that this workforce was highlighted is a very promising sign: We could be in for some significant, much-needed changes in long-term care policy over the next few years.

Allison Lee, National Campaign Manager
Health Care for Health Care Workers
alee@phinational.org