National Nursing Home Week Celebrates the “Aloha Spirit”
National Nursing Home Week (NNHW) will be recognized from May 11 to May 17, and this year’s theme is “Living the Aloha Spirit.”
The “Aloha Spirit” involves “patience, kindness and good feelings and respect in caring about others,” according to the website of American Health Care Association (AHCA), which has promoted NNHW since its 1967 inception.
The AHCA’s NNHW homepage provides nursing homes with ideas for Hawaiian-themed parties, activities, and food.
In 2012, more than 1.4 million nursing assistants helped nursing home residents perform activities of daily living and administered certain clinical tasks, according to a PHI analysis.
However, the median hourly wage for nursing assistants was just $11.74 in 2012 — more than the other major occupational groups of direct-care workers (personal care aides, home health aides) but far less than the average hourly wage for all U.S. workers ($16.71).
Direct-care workers such as nursing assistants provide an estimated 70 to 80 percent of hands-on care for elders and people with disabilities.
— by Matthew Ozga
