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PHI Michigan Offers Executive Leader Seminar

atoleos — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:35:01 +0000

Executive Leader Seminar on Coaching Supervision
October 22-24, Traverse City, Michigan

PHI Michigan is pleased to open its 3-day Executive Leader Seminar on Coaching Supervision and Leadership to organizations across the country. This seminar is designed for CEOs, COOs, Managers, and other Executive Leaders in all long-term care organizations to learn more about the PHI coaching supervision program and how it can enhance the implementation of a person-directed caregiving culture.

PHI’s Coaching Approach to Supervision training offers a unique approach to ending the revolving door of high staff turnover. Through skill-based training, long-term care supervisors learn to support direct-care staff while also holding them accountable. By building constructive, positive relationships, managers show their respect for staff while also helping them become better communicators and stronger problem solvers capable of delivering quality care.

Overall coaching supervision has been shown to:

Create a culture of shared commitment to communication and problem solving.
Improve job performance of direct-care staff and quality of care for consumers.
Reduce the number of “fires” that managers have to put out each day.
Reduce the cycle of turnover and create a more stable workforce.

Since we trained our supervisors in coaching supervision, people think differently. There is more effort to understand the root cause of a performance problem, and supervisors work with direct caregivers to make plans to address problems when they arise.

–Vice President of Clinical Services, VNA of Chittenden County, VT

This seminar allows executive leaders to experience the 2-day Coaching Approach to Supervision and time to think and plan how to bring the approach to their organization.

Learn More

Fees for the 3-day session are $729.00 plus lodging, if required. Registration closes October 8, 2008. For more information about the seminar, the location at Spider Lake Resort in Traverse City, MI, and a registration form, contact MIinfo@PHInational.org.

PHI’s Rodat Delivers Keynote at Ithaca

atoleos — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:49:01 +0000

Carol Rodat (pictured), PHI’s New York Policy Director, was the keynote speaker at the Ithaca College Gerontology Institute’s Annual Conference on September 18.

Her address, titled “The Workforce Crisis in Long Term Care: Proven Tools to Help Meet the Challenge,” laid out the demographic imperative for improving the quality of direct-care jobs through evidence-based practices that improve retention. (more…)

Report: Medicaid Spending to Double by 2027

dcardin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:51:45 +0000

State Medicaid programs will spend $1.6 trillion on long-term care expenses over the next twenty years, according to a new study (pdf 3.2MB) released by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).

The AHIP study claims that if current policies and trends continue, between 2008 and 2027 annual Medicaid long-term care expenditures will grow by 124% from $51.5 billion to $115.6 billion.

Other Findings

In 2008, fifteen states are expected to spend $1 billion on Medicaid long-term care services. By 2027, twenty-five states will be spending $1 billion or more. (more…)

Violations Widespread at Nursing Homes

dcardin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:44:28 +0000

A study released this week (pdf 783k) by federal investigators reports 90 percent of nursing homes were cited last year for violations of federal health and safety standards. For-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other types of nursing homes.

(more…)

Residents’ Rights Week, Oct. 5-11

dcardin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:19:30 +0000

National Residents’ Rights Week, Oct. 5-11, honors residents living in all long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, sub-acute units, assisted living, board and care, and retirement communities.

The week has been designated by NCCNHR: The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care so that facilities may celebrate awareness of dignity, respect and the value of each individual resident. (more…)

PHI Trainers Gather in Philadelphia

dcardin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:09:34 +0000

Graduates of the PHI coaching supervision train-the-trainer program recently gathered outside Philadelphia to share their skills, ideas and experiences at a peer gathering sponsored by PHI’s Center for Coaching Supervision and Leadership (CCSL). The gathering took place Sept. 17 and 18 at the Villanova Conference Center.

Over 50 participants from as far away as Oregon and North Carolina traveled to Pennsylvania to deepen their coaching supervision skills and share lessons learned. Trainers were able to connect with others who were at various stages of implementing coaching supervision, and to participate in skill-building workshops. (more…)

Submit a Presidential Debate Question

dcardin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:05:12 +0000

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? (more…)

Gas Prices & Transportation Webinar

atoleos — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:24:22 +0000

PHI has been covering the effects of rising gas prices on direct-care workers since early this summer. Now, as our nation’s economic crisis grows more severe, the challenge to these low-wage workers has intensified.

The National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center held a webinar earlier this week called “Gas Price Increases & Other Transportation Challenges for Direct Service Workers.” The presentation included an overview of the problem, a description of approaches used by states and providers to address the issue, and information on related Medicaid reimbursement policies and options. (more…)

A Coming-Out Party for the DCA

atoleos — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:45:39 +0000

About 50 or 60 long-term care stakeholders were on-hand at a September 11 reception held by the Direct Care Alliance to inaugurate its new midtown Manhattan headquarters.

Stacey Easterling of The Atlantic Philanthropies praised the DCA for giving voice to “a group that is essentially voiceless when it comes to impacting the direction of the long term care field. Not only am I certain that DCWs have a lot to say, they have important things to say,” she added. The Atlantic Philanthropies is one of the DCA’s main funders.

Direct-care worker Bridget Siljander (pictured), a graduate of the DCA’s Voices Institute, focused her remarks on the need for better wages, benefits, and support. “It is very difficult to support oneself and it is more difficult to also support a family on the wages we earn and with the lack of benefits. We often work in isolation and do not have much of a sense of having a professional community. Respect for the profession and the workers is inadequate… Without drastic changes to the workforce, the availability and quality of direct care will deteriorate further,” she said.

The Hartford Foundation’s Chris Langston described the event as “a coming-out party for the Direct Care Alliance, which is finding its footing. It is mobilizing the three groups of stakeholders, getting direct-care workers to raise their voices, and becoming the organization that it is meant to be.”

Aaron Toleos, Online Communications Director
atoleos@phinational.org

Two New Retention Resources

hthier — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:09:37 +0000

Staff Stability Toolkit

Quality Partners Rhode Island has released a Staff Stability Toolkit that provides “how-to” tips and practical tools for nursing homes seeking to reverse turnover rates.

The premise of the guide is that staff stability is the key foundation to implementing other initiatives, quality improvements, or culture change.

The toolkit lays out an overall method and framework for increasing staff retention, discusses management practices that support stability, offers worksheets that allow facilities to gather and analyze data, and lays out options and advice on providing staff training. It also includes a case study that models the methods discussed in the toolkit.

Twelve Steps for Creating a Culture of Retention

Another recently released “how-to” guide, PHI’s 12 Steps for Creating a Culture of Retention (pdf), offers concrete steps and tools to guide agencies in developing recruitment, selection, and retention practices. The 12 steps that frame this workbook are based on the principle that direct-care workers must have quality jobs to provide the highest quality care for consumers: “quality care through quality jobs.” Intended for use by organizational leaders, the workbook encourages principles of participatory management.

Find more resources on retention at PHI’s National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce.