Archive for ‘Arizona’

Home Care Agency Owner Finds Caregiver Training Invaluable

Posted by on December 12th, 2011 at 11:34 pm | No Comments »

Bob Hebert

My wife and I own a non-medical home care agency that provides assistance with activities of daily living. Our clients are all private-pay, and our direct care workers are all caregivers or companions, not certified CNAs or home health aides.

Those caregivers are our business. Young or old, they have to have a passion and a heart for this kind of work. But they also have to be managed and supported and trained.

We offer our caregivers a lot of training, and we find they really appreciate the classes. Arizona is one of 23 states that do not have licensure requirements for home care. There is no federal training requirement for home care workers, and no state requirement either in our state, except a new one that just applies to people who work at agencies that serve Medicare or Medicaid recipients. But of course all home care workers need training, so most companies do it themselves. Continue reading »

Protecting the Social Safety Net

Posted by on November 8th, 2011 at 10:32 am | 1 Comment »

CNA and DCA member Kelly Gessner testifying at a Senate briefing last week.

UPDATE: Help us fight to preserve these crucial programs by emailing your elected representatives. Our action alert makes it easy to send them a letter.

Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are under attack. Over the past several months, these social safety programs have become the focus of a political battle over what our government needs to do to create jobs and stimulate our struggling economy. This is alarming because these programs are fundamental to the already shaky economic security of our seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families—a group that includes many direct care workers and their families, as well as most of the people they assist.

Unfortunately, the debate about whether to cut social safety net programs is being driven by politics, not the realities that millions of low-income families and individuals face every day. The Direct Care Alliance and many of our allies are waging campaigns to preserve these crucial programs. Continue reading »

Care, Commitment and Coffee with Elizabeth Cross of Arizona!

Posted by on July 5th, 2011 at 2:30 pm | No Comments »

At the 2011 Voices Institute Leadership Training, DCA communications director, Josh Sabato sat down to speak with direct care worker, Elizabeth Cross to discuss the most pressing issues facing direct care workers and how other activists can get involved in direct care advocacy in Arizona.  DCA Speaks with Elizabeth Cross at 2011 Voices Institute Training.

Personal Triumph Highlights Crucial Role Immigrants Play in Direct Care Workforce

Posted by on June 27th, 2011 at 5:24 pm | 1 Comment »

Timothy Doe

What motivates one to immigrate to another country, especially to the United States?  If you are an immigrant, you have no doubt been asked: “So, what brought you here?”

Everyone’s personal situation is different and a variety reasons come into play when someone decides to come and live in this great country.  Some come to U.S. because of a dangerous political climate in their native country, others due to struggling economies, sky-high unemployment rates and lack of educational and professional opportunities in their home land.  Many come to the United States in search of liberty, freedom, more economic opportunities and a better quality of life for their families.

In a sea of thousands who emigrate here every year, and the millions that came before them, this is the story of one such person.  My name is Timothy Kokou Doe and I came to the United States in search of a better life in 2002.  I grew up in Lomé, the capital (and largest city) of Togo, located on the West African coast.  Back in Togo, I worked for nonprofit social service organizations, helping young people prevent early pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.  I also created an association called Soleil de Nuit (Nighttime Sun), aimed at educating the public – especially teenagers – about these important topics through poetry, short sketches and theatrical plays.  After moving to the U.S. from my native Togo, I worked in a restaurant for two years.  Over the course of those two years, I practiced and improved my English so that I could one day pursue a career doing the direct care work that I love.

Continue reading »

Direct Care Workers Essential to Recovery of Gabrielle Giffords

Posted by on February 7th, 2011 at 1:32 pm | No Comments »

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

On behalf of the direct care workers of Arizona I want to wish Gabrielle Giffords a full recovery from her traumatic brain injury. We also ask her direct care workers at TIRR Memorial Hospital in Houston to bring an extra measure of patience for our wonderful Congresswoman and friend. We know just how difficult their work can be as they offer therapy and care to any person suffering a traumatic brain injury. There are so many different outcomes for patients following brain injuries. Many people for extended periods of time lose their ability to speak or to fully understand others or to be understood themselves. Other people for some time lose memories and for some there are personality changes. We have already heard some stories about Gabrielle recognizing friends and relating to the family surrounding her. We are buoyed. We are thankful for these positive signs. Relating to people was always one of Gabrielle’s strengths and far too often a traumatic brain injury can change people. We have to believe that Gabrielle will regain her great gift of relating. Full recovery will truly be a miracle and we hope and pray she is successful with the wonderful help given her. It may be a little selfish on our part but we also hope that this tragedy helps people change how they relate to those different from themselves. We in Tucson are already seeing so many positive changes growing out of this calamity.

We know that hundreds of direct care workers will help thousands of persons this year who suffer similar types of brain injuries. These workers as well as millions of other direct care workers will exercise their compassion, patience and skills to help injured and frail people regain their quality of life. Little things can be so difficult for these patients. Too, too often, others not as fortunate as Gabrielle will always need help buttoning a sweater or brushing their hair or even getting out of bed. Continue reading »

Putting Your Heart in the Game: Calling for Change in Arizona

Posted by on December 7th, 2010 at 10:40 am | 1 Comment »
Doe Clinco Presentation

Timothy Doe (left) and Judy Clinco discuss direct care issues with the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona

The Arizona Direct Care Worker Association has had an exciting couple of months. Before the election, several colleagues and I made visits to the offices of Sen. John McCain and Sen. Jon Kyl to seek support for the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act. We explained our interest in the legislation and how it needs to be bipartisan and widely supported. We also visited Rep. Raul Grijalva to thank him for co-signing the bill and for his understanding of the conditions for direct care workers in Arizona and the entire country. The biggest surprise was finding out how many people in their offices knew someone – a family member or friend – who relied on the care and support of a direct care worker. We spoke about the dire need for better training, wages and benefits for workers and discussed the poor working conditions for direct care workers and how it impacts those we serve.

In September, we hosted our annual conference, “A Celebration of Caring”, which was a wonderful success. It was so great to see everyone together in one place, celebrating their jobs and inspiring each other. We are busy planning next year’s conference already but several attendees mentioned that we could have most of the same speakers back and it would be fine. We will have an all new line-up next September of 2011 but it was great to hear such praise for our first annual conference. We honored several individual care workers for outstanding work in our profession. However, everyone walked away a winner and collected prizes donated from a supportive business community in Tucson. In November, members of the ADCWA sponsored a team at the Alzheimer Memory Walk in honor of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Our association has decided to focus more resources next year reaching out to the community and creating a buzz of public awareness. Continue reading »

Do Criminals Receive Better Treatment than Elders?

Posted by on November 1st, 2010 at 10:18 am | No Comments »

Judy Clinco

This seems like an outrageous question, doesn’t it?  But consider it as a hypothetical: given the neglect of our long-term care system, the comparison does make a point.  Millions of older Americans rely on long-term care services, but so many more are still in need of assistance.  Access to quality home and community-based services is not widely available and certainly is not an entitlement.  That’s why the short commentary piece – “Let’s put the seniors in jail and the criminals in nursing homes” – which has been circulating the Internet for some time, makes me ask the question: do criminals really receive better treatment than those depending on long-term care?  As leaders and advocates for change in direct and long-term care, we can make sure this isn’t the case.  According to the commentary, prisoners receive:

  • Access to showers, hobbies, and walks.
  • Unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc.
  • Fresh bedding twice a week, and clean laundry which is ironed and returned to them.
  • Access to a library, weight room, spiritual counseling, pool, and education.
  • Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, P.J.’s and legal aid, free of charge.
  • Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard  — with gardens.

Continue reading »

Arizona Direct Care Workers Prepare to Meet Baby Boomer Demand

Posted by on June 10th, 2010 at 9:27 am | No Comments »

Judy Clinco

A recent article in the Arizona Republic calls attention to the rising demand for direct care services in Arizona.  With an additional 1.1 million direct care workers needed across the U.S. in the next ten years, it is more important than ever that our workforce is equipped to meet the challenge.  From the article:

Despite all our political differences, there is a universally shared human hope. No matter your race, ethnic background, religion, gender or sexual orientation, everybody wants a sense of self-determination in old age. But as 77 million Baby Boomers move into their golden years, there is a shortage of direct-care workers who can help them retain a sense of independence.

That’s one big problem. For [Direct Care Alliance board member] Judy Clinco, solving it also involves addressing the parallel human need to fill one’s younger years with meaningful work. Let’s start with the challenges of old age. The ability of Boomers to continue to do their own thing will depend largely on the availability of direct-care workers. These workers provide 80 percent of paid, hands-on services for the elderly in their own homes, in assisted-living settings, nursing homes, hospices and hospitals. These workers are in short supply – and that’s nothing new. 10 years ago, [Ms. Clinco] created the CareGiver Training Institute to build a workforce.  This month, the non-profit will graduate its 1,000th student.

Read the rest of the article here.

DCA’s Investment in Arizona Pays Off: Association, Worker Leaders Make Great Strides

Posted by on January 29th, 2010 at 3:49 pm | 1 Comment »

Judy Clinco

It’s not easy to start up a direct care worker association, but with the right members and allies, you’d be surprised how much you can get done.

Our association, the Arizona Direct Care Worker Association (ADCWA), started last year. We are still in the process of building up our membership, but we already have some really powerful advocates for their profession. And we have a plan for the year, which we’re all working hard to implement.

After the DCA’s Vera Salter did a Power Me workshop for us last summer, we invited all the association members who attended the workshop to become part of a leadership circle. Six of them did, and they’ve gotten a lot done in the last six months. Continue reading »

Real Wages Keep Falling for Personal and Home Care Aides

Posted by on September 9th, 2009 at 11:17 am | 1 Comment »

state chartbook coverAs every direct care worker advocate knows, personal and home care aides earn far too little for the important work they do. And now an updated version of PHI’s State Chart Book on Wages for Personal and Home Care Aides (PDF) gives advocates a valuable tool, proving that real wages are actually getting worse.

The chart book analyzes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, adjusting last year’s wages for inflation to see how their earning power compares to average wages in 1999.

Nationwide, these inflation-adjusted rates, which the chartbook calls “real wages,” have decreased by 3 percent over the past nine years, dropping from $7.50 an hour to just $7.31. Real wages increased in more than half the states during that period, but not enough to make up for their decline in the other 21.

Median wages in 2008 ranged from $7.05 an hour in Texas to $12.55 in Alaska in 2008, or real wages of $5.61 to $9.90. “Wages for personal and home care aides are so low,” says PHI Director of Policy Research Dorie Seavey, “that about 20 percent of these workers received a raise on July 24 when the minimum wage increased to $7.25/hour.”

The chartbook also compares wages to federal poverty level wages for a one-person household.

Elise Nakhnikian
Communications Director
Direct Care Alliance

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