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Come hear Edwin Mendez-Santiago (Commissioner for the NYC Department of the Aging) as we present
THE HOPE AWARDS
Honoring Outstanding Seniors
in the Brooklyn Area for
Making a Difference in the Community
TUESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 23RD ( 11AM - 3PM)
BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL
209 Joralemon Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 SENIOR UMBRELLA NETWORK OF BROOKLYN
THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES For more information, visit www.sunb.org
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Study Shows Link Between
Health Care and Retention
"There is now a consistent pattern of data showing that homecare
workers receiving benefits have a lower rate of attrition and,
therefore, a higher rate of stability," says the latest report from the
Los Angeles County In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.
Impact of Health Benefits on Retention of Homecare Workers: Analysis of the IHSS Health Benefits Program in LA County
(pdf) is a follow-up to four reports from 2003-2006, which showed that
offering medical benefits to the IHSS home care workers reduced
turnover.
The present study, a five-year longitudinal retention analysis,
echoes those findings. It also teases out more detail, comparing work
patterns for workers who enrolled in the benefits program with those
who did not, identifying traits that predict who will enroll, tracking
changes in enrollment over time, and more.
The findings are significant because "The success of any kind of
in-home supportive services depends on having an experienced and
well-trained and committed workforce - you can't have people stay out
of institutions if there's no workforce to take care of them at home,"
says Joanne Holland, a senior clinical specialist at RTZ Associates
Inc. "It's such important work, but it's not a high-paying position.
And a lot of people are able to stay in the work because of these
health care benefits."
The study found that nearly half (45%) of the workers who enrolled
in the plan were still in the workforce at the five-year mark, compared
with only about a third (35%) of those who were eligible for benefits
but had not enrolled.
"The stability of the workforce means you have better workers
because they're been doing it longer," adds Holland. "It also makes for
better relationships with consumers, so it's a better experience for
them." RTZ Associates wrote the report.
Elise Nakhnikian, PHI, Senior Online Editor
enakhnikian@phinational.org |
Rehab Center Monitors Patients With Ultra-wide Band
By Beth Bacheldor
Aug. 27, 2008-The
Nesconset Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation,
located in Nesconset, N.Y., is implementing a real-time location system
(RTLS) that utilizes ultra-wide band (UWB) technology to track patients,
staff and equipment. The system, which includes hardware from RTLS provider
Time Domain Corp. and RFID tracking software from Sysgen Data Ltd., will
help the center keep patients safer by tracking their whereabouts and
alerting staff if they wander off.
A few years ago, Robert Heppenheimer,
executive director and owner of the Nesconset center, began seeking a
real-time, RFID-enabled wander-prevention system for a smaller nursing
facility he also owns (which, to date, has not yet deployed the system).
But after investigating the technology and discussing options with Raphael
Feldman, Sysgen's CEO, Heppenheimer says he realized the technology was
not quite ready. Therefore, he settled for existing wander-prevention
technology similar to electronic article surveillance (EAS) security
systems employed in retail stores, that simply issues an alert, such
as an audible alarm, or locks a door whenever a resident wearing a wristband
gets too close to any doorways secured by special gates.
"This existing
wander-prevention technology is static," Heppenheimer
says. "There's no way to differentiate patients. Nursing homes are
all about individualizing care. So if I'm a low-risk resident and I walk
by that door, the alarm is going to ring every time. For us, though,
it really is important to know which resident is walking by that door,
and then tailor our responses to each resident's needs."
Heppenheimer,
continuing his quest for real-time tracking, stayed in touch with Feldman
and assisted with the development of tracking software. In 2007, Heppenheimer
began considering several RFID RTLS vendors, ultimately choosing Time
Domain's system for Nesconset, a 240-resident facility with a special-care
unit for Alzheimer's disease and dementia patients. The center began
implementing Time Domain's UWB hardware in January of this year.
Click here to view complete article at rfidjournal.com. |
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"...offering medical benefits to the IHSS home care workers reduced
turnover."
"The stability of the workforce means you have better workers
because they're been doing it longer." |
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