Vicki Erickson
I have been a direct care worker for the past 24 years. Since last November, I’ve also been the Direct Care Alliance’s newest direct care worker specialist.
In my work for the DCA, I’ve been contacting state associations to find out how many have a leadership council. When I find one that does, I ask questions to find out how it works. I want to know if direct care workers make up their leadership council. How many people sit on the council? What kind of leadership program did they go through? I am looking at all fields of health care – hospitals, nursing homes, home health, direct support, private duty, CMA, etc.
I’m doing this survey because the Direct Care Alliance is creating a national leadership council made up of people who have graduated from the Voice Institute. We want representatives from each of the 50 states and from Washington, D.C., so if anyone has a problem or question about how things work in their state, they’ll be able to contact their leadership council representative for an answer.
So far, I’ve found four states that have councils — Iowa, Maine, Florida and Wisconsin. If you know of any others, please email me at rnverick@mchsi.com.
And please let me know if you or someone you know is interested in attending this year’s national Voices Institute. If you belong to a direct care worker association, ask the director to nominate you.
There will be 30 people in this year’s class, but we’re hoping to get applicants from every state. It will be held from Sept 27 through Oct 3 in Racine, Wisconsin. Money will be available to help with travel, meal, and lodging costs, and attendees will get an $80 stipend every day to help make up for lost wages.
The Voices Institute is a high intensity, fast paced class for people who want to be leaders. We hope you’ll join us yourself, or pass on the word to a direct care worker leader you know.
Vicki K. Erickson, CNA/AC
Direct Care Worker Specialist, Direct Care Alliance
