Future of LVDCWA

This may be the last post on this blog.

As you may know, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and Lehigh Valley Alliance on Aging has decided to discontinue leadership of the Lehigh Valley Direct Care Workers initiative, including maintenance of this blog.

This is a decision based on practicality and focus rather than budget.  United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and I still believe in the value of supporting the retention and recruitment of Direct Care Workers. In fact, the recently developed United Way strategic plan framework reaffirms the need for supportive services to help older adults remain in their homes, but seeks to increase actual services in other strategies.

As you may know, United Way stepped in to financially support LVDCWA after the Better Jobs Better Care demonstration grant ended, nearly two years ago, at a cost of nearly $40,000 each year for the past two years. We tried a number of strategies to make the project successful, including one-on-one discussions with local managers, this blog, conferences and speakers at the monthly meetings.

Despite our efforts, we were unable to secure large numbers of members and attendees, making the project costs per person very expensive (over $1,000 per person) and our return on investment very low.

We are currently in the process of informing current members about the decision.  Some members have expressed a desire to maintain the association on their own.  At the current time, Terry Rives is collecting a list of interested parties.  If you are interested in participating in the Lehigh Valley Direct Care Workers Association moving forward, please contact Terry at terryrives@gmail.com.

Poem By A Direct Care Worker

The Direct Care News featured this poem by a Direct Care Worker:

In Social Awareness Sophie's asked,


If you could change any part of yourself

what would it be? and she thinks very carefully...
 
(Click here to read full poem)

Two Studies Released

MetLife Mature Market Institute released its 2009 "Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services and Home Care Costs" and its “Long-Term Care IQ: Removing Myths, Reinforcing Realities” report. According to the press release, the survey indicates the public is not knowledgeable about long term care and many misconceptions endure.
This survey of nursing homes, conducted in conjunction with LifePlans, Inc., contains daily private-pay rates for private and semi-private rooms in licensed nursing homes, monthly base rates for assisted living communities, hourly rates for home health aides from licensed agencies and agency-provided homemaker companion services, and daily rates for adult day services across the United States.

HeartWork!