Rite Aid Offers Help To Stressed Caregivers

from longtermcareprovider.com: 



CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Being a caregiver can be very stressful for the more than 44 million Americans charged with taking care of an aging loved one. That's why Rite Aid has launched its new "Giving Care for Parents" program with print and online resources that offer solutions to common caregiving problems, expert advice from Rite Aid pharmacists and geriatric authorities and a library of informational videos. Caregivers also will be able to establish an online network of support through chats with other caregivers later this year.
In the 20-page Caregivers Guide available at Rite Aid stores across the country, caregivers will find helpful hints on topics including financial planning, strategies for balancing their careers and personal lives and advice for living with their loved ones. The guide also has information on support groups, programs and other resources such as medical facilities and businesses that cater to seniors and caregivers.
At www.riteaid.com, caregivers can click on "Giving Care for Parents" and find resources such as a collection of articles written by medical and geriatric professionals, nursing home staff and government experts on aging addressing common concerns such as accidents at home, long-term care, legal and financial issues and health conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

State of the Science: Professional Partners Supporting Family Caregiving

Most older adults who need assistance depend on family and friends as their only source of help. And because social workers and nurses are at the forefront of supporting family caregivers, and in order to better prepare professionals in these fields, the American Journal of Nursing, the AARP Foundation, the Council on Social Work Education, the Family Caregiver Alliance; and the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy hosted an invitational symposium and produced this report. Both were made possible by funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation.


Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Long-Term Care Financing Solutions: AARP

Earlier we blogged here about the long-term care financing forum at the University of Minnesota. One of the solutions put forward came from AARP. Here are highlights from Enid Kassner, director, Independent Living/Long-Term Care Public Policy Institute. Next we’ll share an approach from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

AARP’s Goal:

Create an affordable, consumer and caregiver-focused system providing coverage for, and access to, high quality long-term services and supports for independent living.

1. Promote - nationally and in the states - reform of delivery and financing for long-term services and supports.

2. REFOCUS reform debate on providing: long-term services and supports for independent living . . . rather than on “long-term care” or “Medicaid Reform.”

3. Include ALL populations, people with: developmental disabilities and physical disabilities . . . while improving services for seniors.

4. Defin “long-term services and support system” as FOUR separate, but related components:

1. Caregivers
2. Housing
3. Health Care
4. Long-Term and Community-Based Supportive Services

. . . . plus mechanisms to finance each component.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

My Caregiver Magazine

The National Association of Health Care Assistants- NAHCA- used to have a magazine for CNA’s called “CNA TODAY”- it ceased publication a couple years ago. NOW, they introduce a new magazine for ALL direct care workers in the nursing field, titled, “MY CAREGIVER”.

From the MY CAREGIVER web site:

My Caregiver is a quarterly magazine published by the Academy of Certified Health Professionals (ACHP) for and about health care assistants and their role in long term care. It is a special magazine, a publication virtually every person in the long term care industry will want to read.

With a circulation of 10,000, we reach nursing assistants, Directors of Nursing, facility Administrators, nursing home residents, and their families, product manufacturers, policy makers, and other health care associations.

The first issue of My Caregiver debuted March 2008. It evolved from the original CNA Today magazine to focus on health care assistants from diverse settings in long term care. The original magazine, CNA Today, launched June 2001 and was unveiled at the NAGNA National Convention.

Now My Caregiver will prove to be a remarkable resource for information on long term care for all who perform the role or duties of a nursing assistant, regardless of title.

The magazine is published quarterly and costs $15.00/year for non NAHCA members; $10.00/year for members.

NAHCA’s main web site is HERE.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

The Health Coverage Crisis in Direct-Care

Download the report (pdf 1.9MB)

Report Shows High Rates of Injury, Inadequate Health Coverage May Result in Caregiver Shortage

As part of National Women’s Health Week, PHI’ Health Care for Health Care Workers Campaign will deliver a sobering report -– Invisible Care Gap: Caregivers without Health Coverage — on the health insurance status of our nation’s caregiving workforce, 90% of which is female. Based on the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report reveals that:

  • Nurse aides have the highest rates of workplace injuries and illnesses in the country, making it America’s most dangerous job.
  • Nearly 30% of direct-care workers have no health insurance coverage, twice the rate of the general population.
  • The country’s fastest-growing workforce—jobs providing in-home personal care services—is the least likely to have health coverage.
  • Direct-care wages are so low (median hourly wage of $9.56/hr) that nearly 30% live in or near poverty and few can afford high cost of insurance premiums.
Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Older People Want To Use Technology To Help Them Remain At Home

Older adults want to use technology so they can age safely in their home. Family caregivers agree believing technology can ease some of the challenges of caregiving. Concerns such as cost to install and maintain equipment remain barriers for people 65-plus and for caregivers. These are the conclusions of two new reports, one from AARP and the other from the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA).

The AARP Foundation commissioned this report which examined the attitudes of people 65-plus and caregivers towards technology and found that both groups are concerned about costs. The study identified a willingness to try technology like home security services, sensors to detect falls and devices to regulate temperature, lights and appliances. But cost remains a factor with seventy-five percent of caregivers and eighty percent of those 65-plus willing to pay $50.00 or less per month for the service.

"The ground is fertile for the use of caregiving technology to flourish," said Elinor Ginzler, AARP Sr. Vice President for Livable Communities. "Almost nine in ten older Americans want to be able to stay in their own homes and they are willing to use technology that can help them do that. Cost, however, is the elephant in the room-how to pay remains a big obstacle."