The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed the first state licensure program that rewards long-term care providers who invest in building a high quality workforce. The resulting North Carolina New Organizational Vision Award (NC NOVA) is indicative of our state's efforts to keep oversight in pace with the immense growth of the in-home caregiving industry. Furthermore, Partners In Care's recent achievement as the first home care agency in our area to receive the NOVA Award holds up our company as a truly bar-setting long-term care provider, meeting a voluntary and comprehensive set of higher workforce and workplace standards for our caregivers and CNAs.

A broad coalition of partners - all five state provider associations, workers, consumers, regulators and educators - coalesced to create the NC NOVA program, awarded by the North Carolina Division of Facilities Services to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult care homes and home care agencies after a rigorous independent review of standards conducted by The Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence. These standards fall under four major areas: supportive workplaces, training, career development and balanced workloads.

"For the first time, providers will be rewarded for investing in their workers and improving the workplace culture. Turnover rates, which can reach 100 percent, can have a serious impact on providers, consumers and the workers themselves," said Robyn Stone, Dr.P.H., director of BJBC, executive director of the Institute for the Future of Aging Services (IFAS) and senior vice president for research at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). "We are delighted that North Carolina has led the way in making high quality workforces one of the basic standards of quality care."

NC NOVA was designed and piloted by grantees of the North Carolina Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC), a four-year, $15.5 million research and demonstration program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies. Its goal is to achieve changes in long-term care policy and practice that help reduce high vacancy and turnover rates among direct care staff across the spectrum of long-term care settings and contribute to improved workforce quality. Technical assistance is provided in partnership with the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI).

"In my mind, what it really comes down to is recruiting & retention of employees," says Partners In Care director and owner Sally Olin. "There were a total of 20 home care companies and 20 facilities chosen as test sites for this project. The entire process of achieving this award was over a year in length, and being one of the first recipients of the NOVA Award shows how dedicated we are to our employees." Sally continues, "In some respects, our industry is really a staffing company for seniors. And employees are obviously the most important assets of a staffing company. To be recognized as one of only four senior care companies in the state to receive this NOVA award underscores how much we care about the well-being of our caregivers & CNAs."

Maintaining its coveted NOVA status means Partners In Care will be subject to strict quality control and internal audits every 2 years to ensure that the company continues to provide superior care to seniors. To this end, Partners In Care is committed to upholding its supportive workplace in many ways. Recognizing outstanding work by employees with "Caregiver of the Month" awards and "Caregiver of the Year" awards gives due credit to employees who go above-and-beyond the call of duty. Such accolades help to boost team moral and encourage caregivers and CNAs to continue to provide the highest level of service to seniors. Also, being a family company, we often pause to celebrate "families" and the values that they represent. Recognizing employee birthdays, giving company-wide gifts during the holidays, and hosting open houses and "bring-the-kids" cookouts at the Partners In Care offices all help to foster a feeling of family when you work for Partners In Care. These moments serve as a perpetual reminder of the familial core upon which Partners In Care is built.

Partners In Care will continue to invest an immense amount of resources in staff training to fuel our company's ongoing efforts toward "best practices" and, in the end, perfection. We have established an impressive Peer Mentoring Program, and moreover, Partners In Care believes strongly in continuing education, offering a wide array of monthly in-services, cooking classes, and an exclusive Certified Companion Aide (CCA) training program to bolster each employee's incessant movement toward the further professionalization of their skills. During a recent office expansion, we created a permanent, true-to-life "mock hospital room" in which all employees learn and refresh their skills with transfers, hoyer lifts, bloodborne pathogens protection, fall prevention, and every other imaginable circumstance involved in senior care.

And with regard to career development, Partners In Care enjoys promoting employees from within its care team (as was the case with Annette Haskell and Keisha Brown moving from the field into the management office), and we now usher and assist many of our employees into full Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) status - helping these individuals achieve what is, for some, one of their biggest personal professional goals.

The NOVA Award is a mark of true distinction, reinforcing our company's enduring dedication to improving the quality of life of our clients, helping them maintain their independence, and adhering to an unwavering set of moral and ethical values. We believe that a supportive workplace leads to better care for seniors. The state has now recognized us for raising the bar - and we hope you do, too, by spreading the word about Partners In Care!

Cancer strikes people of all ages, but you are more likely to get cancer as you get older, even if no one in your family has had it. The good news is that cancer death rates are going down. No matter what your age, the chances of surviving cancer are better today than ever before.

What Is Cancer?

There are many kinds of cancer but they all begin when cells in a part of the body become abnormal and start multiplying. These cells form a mass of tissue called a tumor. Cancer cells can also break away and spread to other parts of the body.

When cancer is found early, treatment can shrink or destroy the tumor. It helps to get regular checkups and to know the symptoms of cancer.

What Are Common Symptoms?

Cancer can cause many different symptoms including the following:

·   A thickening or lump in the breast or any other part of the body

·   A new mole or a change in an existing mole

·   A sore that does not heal

·   Chronic hoarseness or a cough

·   Changes in bowel or bladder habits

·   Discomfort after eating

·   A hard time swallowing

·   Unexplained weight gain or loss

·   Unusual bleeding or discharge

·   Feeling weak or very tired

Most often, these symptoms are not due to cancer. They may be caused by non-cancerous (benign) tumors or other problems. Nevertheless, if you are having any of these symptoms or other changes in your health, you should consult your doctor. Don't wait to feel pain. In its early stages, cancer usually doesn't cause pain.

What Regular Tests Should I Have?

Breast Cancer: Clinical Breast Exam, Mammogram

Cervical Cancer: Pap Test, Pelvic Exam

Colorectal Cancer: Fecal Occult Blood Test, Sigmoidoscopy, Colonoscopy

Mouth and Throat Cancers: Oral Exams

Prostate Cancer: Digital Rectal Exam, Prostate Specific Antigen

Skin Cancer: Skin Exams

If a screening test does show a growth or abnormal change, it doesn't always mean that you have cancer. You may need more tests. A biopsy is the only sure way to know whether the problem is cancer. In a biopsy, a piece of tissue is taken from the abnormal area and looked at under a microscope to check for cancer cells.

How Is Cancer Treated?

People with cancer often see different specialists. These may include a medical oncologist (specialist in cancer treatment), a surgeon, a radiation oncologist (specialist in radiation therapy), and others. Your choice of treatment depends on the type of cancer you have, where it is in the body, and the stage it is at. You and your doctor will also take into account your overall health and any specific health problems you may have.

Can Cancer Be Prevented?

Experts think that about two-thirds of all cancers may be linked to things we can control, especially use of tobacco and what we eat and drink. You can lower your risk of cancer in several ways.

·   Do not use tobacco products.

·   Avoid sunburns.

·   Eat right.

·   Keep your weight down.

·   Stay active.

·   Limit alcohol consumption to one or two drinks a day.

Excerpted from the National Institute on Aging website. To see article in its entirely go to  www.niapublications.org/agepages/cancer.asp