Archive for ‘Vermont’

New Scholarship Opportunity for Vermont Caregivers

Posted by on February 15th, 2010 at 12:45 am | No Comments »

A scholarship for caregivers will be awarded this spring to a professional caregiver for seniors or adults with disabilities in Vermont. The first annual Linda Andersen Caregiver Scholarship, named in honor of a long-time caregiver who passed away suddenly last year, is being presented by Armistead Caregiver Services in conjunction with the Community of Vermont Elders (COVE).

“We want to honor Linda’s dedication to seniors, her teammates and Armistead with this $1,000 scholarship. We also want to honor caregiving as a career by making access to education and training a little easier,” says Rachel Lee Cummings, President of Armistead. COVE will administer the scholarship, collecting and reviewing applications and making the award decision.

Applicants must have at least two years of caregiving experience, be at least 18 years old, and be a legal resident of Vermont. The winner must apply the money toward education or training related to the caregiver field, such as conflict management, gerontology, psychology, nursing, or medical school.

The scholarship will be awarded in April.

Read more and download the application (PDF)

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

Vermont is Looking for a Few Good Caregivers

Posted by on June 25th, 2009 at 1:36 pm | No Comments »

vermont mapThe Vermont Governor’s Commission on Healthy Aging is requesting nominations for a Caregiver Champion as part of its 4th Annual Healthy Aging Awards. Nominations are due August 1. The winner must provide “outstanding care, compassion, devotion and professionalism in the field of caregiving.”

According to the application, nominees must “exemplify the profession through demonstrating person-centered care, positive attitudes, strong communication skills, compassion, being advocates for the individuals receiving care, teamwork, knowledge, and skills.” The award is open to direct care workers in any home, community-based, or health care facility setting.

For details or to apply, download a the award application as a Word or PDF document.

DCA Publishes Fact Sheets for Direct Care Worker Advocates and their Allies

Posted by on June 25th, 2009 at 10:56 am | No Comments »

A full set of DCA Direct Care Fact Sheets, one for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is now available in the Resources section of our website.

The one-page sheets were created as a resource for direct care worker advocates and their allies, legislators, policymakers, members of the media, and others interested in direct care issues. They include key facts such as:

  •   The number of home health aides, nursing assistants, and personal and home care aides in the state in 2006 and the projected numbers of each in 2016
  •   The average hourly wage for the state’s direct care workers
  •   What percentage of direct care workers in that state or region are without health insurance

Elise Nakhnikian
Communications Director
Direct Care Alliance

Vermont Association of Professional Care Providers – Annual Conference

Posted by on November 25th, 2007 at 3:55 pm | 2 Comments »

The Vermont Association of Professional Care Providers (VAPCP) conference and annual meeting was held November 14th to a crowd of over 100 direct care workers and friends. The theme was “Honoring our Work-Honoring Ourselves,” and the event certainly accomplished that mission.

The conference was opened by a welcome delivered by COVE Executive Director Dolly Fleming and association President Suzanne Braunegg.


The event went into high gear with a musical and inspirational Keynote by PHI’s MariaElena DelValle, who engaged the audience in an interactive session on “Your life as Story.” MariaElena’s presentation was empowering and moving.

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