D. Alex Chuang
T – It’s about tolerance and inclusion
E – It’s about effectiveness with less efficiency
A – It’s about Acts of Congress and the legislature
M – It’s about message crafting and staying on point
W — It’s about wages and top-line revenue
O – It’s about opening minds and wallets
R – It’s about respect with results
K – It’s about kinships and the human kindred spirit
D. Alex Chuang
Voices Institute NLP Class of 2009
Brenda (L) with Jackie Merkel at the 2008 Voices Institute National Leadership Program
A is for the award-winning experience
W is for a wonderful, worthy cause
E is for exposure to new ideas
S is for soothing smiles and soul
O is for the overwhelming openness of my newfound friends
M is for meaningful memories
E is for everlasting
Brenda Nachtway
DCA Direct Care Worker Specialist and graduate of the 2008 class of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program
Tracy Dudzinski
I is for the inspiration I received from the other workers
N is for the newfound confidence that I have in myself
C is for the catalyst of change I have become
R is for the roar I have developed
E is for the extra friends I’ve made
D is for the defining moments that have changed me as a person
I is for the insight I have about myself
B is for the belief I now have in myself
L is for the lion I’ve become
E is for the endless memories I took home with me
Tracy Dudzinski
DCA Board member and graduate of the 2008 class of the Voices Institute National Leadership Program
Shannon Gilbert
It’s official! The Direct Support Professionals of Indiana, better known as DSPIN, is the newest affiliate of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP).
We submitted our contract agreement to NADSP on August 17. Before long, we were on their website, listed as one of their state affiliates.
But there was a lot of work to do before that happened, and there’s a lot more to be done.
I told you about our first meeting, where we had a kind of informal focus group, talking to the direct support workers and others who showed up about potential obstacles to setting up a state association and ways to get around them.
At our next meeting, we came up with our name and our first board of directors. I got elected president – I tried to give it to someone else, but they all said “No, you have to do it; you’re the one with the idea and all the information.” After that, people stepped up to fill in the slots and do what needed to be done.
There are 10 board members, and they’re all direct support professionals from around the state. I’ve never met any of them before they showed up for our meetings. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of the agencies some of them work for. That’s how distant we DSPs are from each other, most of the time. The more we work together on this, the more we share our stories and realize how much we have in common. It’s a really good peer group connection. Continue reading »
The Iowa CareGivers Association (ICA), the Florida Professional Association of Care Givers (FPACG), and the New Mexico Direct Caregivers Coalition are all hosting their annual conferences this fall.
Iowa CareGivers Association
The ICA’s event, Cracking the Caregiver Code, will be held on October 9 in Des Moines. It will feature educational sessions on caregiving topics, like “The Top 10 Things to Know About Autism” and “A Crash Course in Preventing and Managing Conflict,” as well as sessions aimed at honing attendees’ self-care and leadership skills. Attendees can get free bone density, blood pressure, and body mass index screenings, and blood lipids and glucose screenings will be offered for a minimal fee. Continue reading »
Muhannah S. Kakish
You know how usually you get a sponsor and then create an event? Well, we created an event and then got the sponsor.
On September 13, DSPAM (Direct Support Professional Association of Minnesota) is commemorating National Direct Support Professional Recognition Week with a special day for direct support professionals (DSPs). That’s the term NADSP uses for the personal care assistants, personal attendants, in-home support workers, and other direct care workers who provide support for people with disabilities.
We started out planning to just having a picnic. Then the DCA gave DSPAM some incentive money to seed a grassroots fundraising effort, and we started to think bigger. Our idea grew into Making Changes Together (PDF), which is a full-fledged event with catered picnic food, beverages, door prizes, games for the kids, and entertainment – all free for direct support workers and their friends and families. We’ll also have free haircuts, mani-pedis, makeovers, and massages, because DSPs work so much and we wanted to do something for them. And we’ll be giving out the DSP Choice Awards (PDF) to honor five outstanding direct support workers. Continue reading »
Darlene Ricco, ANCOR's 2009 DSP of the Year
If there’s a direct support professional in your life who you’d like to thank for his or her good work, mark your calendar for this year’s Direct Support Professional Recognition Week, September 13-19.
This is the second year for this initiative, which the ANCOR National Advocacy Campaign created to honor direct support workers and recognize the difference they make in the lives of the people they support.
“Direct support professionals provide critical daily supports to individuals with disabilities, allowing them to live more meaningful and productive lives within their community by promoting inclusion and independence,” says ANCOR CEO Renee Pietrangelo. “DSP Recognition Week is but one way we all can show our appreciation for the role they play in strengthening our communities and supporting our most vulnerable neighbors, friends and family.”
Check out ANCOR’s website in the coming weeks for more information on DSP Recognition Week 2009 and how to observe it.
Elise Nakhnikian
Communications Director
Direct Care Alliance
In the past few weeks, I was invited on a TV talk show here in Maine (see video) to talk about the work I’ve been doing to make health care more affordable for direct care workers. I’ve attended and spoken at direct care worker conferences in Texas — both Houston and Killeen – and in Pennsylvania. I’ve helped organize and participated in more than 50 visits with House and Senate members in Washington DC by direct care workers and their allies. And I’ve met with new DCA partners in New Mexico.
Change is in the wind! To see what I mean, come along while I revisit the highlights of the last two or three months: Continue reading »
Newly chosen members of the Voices Institute’s 2009 National Leadership Program were recognized at the 12th annual Celebrating Nursing Assistants event in Charlottesville, Virginia, on June 16.
Two hundred and thirty-seven CNAs from Central Virginia attended the event, which opened with a musical selection by the Charlottesville Threshold Choir. The choir sings at the bedsides of people who are ill or dying, for their caregivers, and for others in need of musical healing.
Following a buffet dinner and a talk by Dr. Wendi El-Amin, a family practitioner from the University of Virginia, certificates were awarded to Voices Institute inductees Geraldine (Liz) Rush and Robert Stevens and to Angel Saylor, who was on a waiting list at the time. Ms. Saylor has since been accepted.
Awards were then given in recognition of the CNAs with the most years of service and to the Nursing Assistant of the Year in each of five settings: hospital/acute care, community/home health, nursing home, assisted living, and companion/sitter.
Arkansas nursing assistants were honored for their service by the Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents (AANHR). The 110 men and women at the June 8 banquet were nominated by their supervisors or by the resident council at their recognized for the loving care they have provided for the infirm – some for 10, 15, or even 20 years – despite low pay and few words of thanks.
Honorees from 63 nursing homes across the state received personal thanks for their untiring service. They were joined by directors of nursing, administrators, friends, and family members.
I read a proclamation from Governor Mike Beebe, which he created from a form I downloaded from the Career Nursing Assistant Network website’s resources for celebrating Nursing Assistant Week. I also read out each honoree’s name and the tribute his or her sponsor had written as he or she approached the front of the room to receive a framed certificate of merit, a pin, and a Wal-Mart gift certificate.
A number of cash prizes were awarded during the luncheon, which is an annual affair. This year’s was attended by 220 people. We were joined, as always, by State Ombudsman Kathie Gately and Carol Compas, Nursing Home Quality Initiative Project Manager for the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, our states Quality Improvement Organization. Kathie gave an inspirational speech and handed out some of the prizes, and Carol talked about culture change and how person-centered care means assigning CNAs to always work with the same set of residents, so they can get to know each other and become a true family.
In the latest issue of our newsletter, (PDF) we featured photos of all of the CNAs who were honored this year. It’s the least we can do for these caring caregivers, who have done so much for us.
Martha Deaver
President, AANHR
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