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Implementing strategies that promote true value of direct care workers will improve LTSS workforce challenges: report

Jul 05, 2021

The long-term services and supports sector must reimagine the direct care workforce, making employees feel more valued, to reduce turnover and improve recruitment, according to a new analysis. “Direct care professionals face many challenges and are not valued for their essential role to care for older adults and people with disabilities,” explained authors Robyn Stone and Natasha Bryant, with LeadingAge’s LTSS...

We’re Not Ready for Another Pandemic

Jun 28, 2021

The next big plague is coming, and despite making progress on pandemic preparedness, the U.S. might still suffer mass casualties. Here’s why. Ominous pathogens seem to arrive every few years: SARS in 2003, swine flu in 2009, Ebola in 2014 , Zika in 2016 , COVID-19 in 2019 . The World Health Organization calls these viral threats “ Disease X ,” both to encourage policy makers to think...

How Health Care In The U.S. May Change After COVID: An Optimist's Outlook

May 30, 2021

With more than one-third of U.S. adults now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, there's growing optimism on many fronts. A majority of states have either lifted health-related restrictions or have announced target dates for doing so. Already, many clinicians and health policy experts are thinking about what the post-pandemic world will look like. COVID-19 demonstrated that even in a behemoth industry like health...

It’s not a ‘labor shortage.’ It’s a great reassessment of work in America.

May 10, 2021

Hiring was much weaker than expected in April. Wall Street thinks it’s a blip, but there could be much deeper rethinking of what jobs are needed and what workers want to do on a daily basis. From Wall Street to the White House, expectations were high for a hiring surge in April with potentially a million Americans returning to work. Instead, the world learned Friday that just 266,000 jobs were added, a...

Community groups help elderly, low-income Asian Americans get vaccine access

Mar 29, 2021

The Hmong Village, a sprawling indoor mall in St. Paul, Minnesota, has long been the center of cultural and commercial life for the Hmong diaspora. It’s filled with restaurants, street fairs and specialty goods stores that attract visitors across the country, and for the past three Saturdays, it’s also become the site of a mass vaccination effort that’s immunized at least 600 Hmong seniors and health care workers....

Air Force officer turns JCC nursing education into worldwide career

Mar 22, 2021

JAMESTOWN — An atlas is one of Cheri Foti’s most prized possessions — a visual memory of a career dedicated to serving her country and others across the globe. “I’ve highlighted each of the countries and continents I’ve been to,” Foti says. “I’ve been to over 21 countries and four continents — North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.”...

What the COVID-19 Relief Package Means for Health and Health Care

Mar 12, 2021

The $1.9 trillion measure cleared by Congress includes funding for testing and vaccine initiatives and aims to expand the reach of the Affordable Care Act. THE $1.9 TRILLION COVID-19 relief package cleared by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden will provide Americans with $1,400 stimulus payments but also includes a raft of health- and health care-related provisions. The package, dubbed...

Personal Care Attendants add more hands to the frontlines of long-term care

Mar 03, 2021

As America’s population grows older and drives up demand for long-term care, nursing centers are continuing their decades-long struggle to fill direct care positions — the qualified caregivers who meet the daily needs of residents. The impact of COVID-19 on staff has greatly exacerbated these workforce challenges. Nursing homes must deal with staff calling out sick, the new reality of childcare and family issues, and...

First, Nurses Saved Our Lives—Now They’re Saving Our Health Care

Feb 24, 2021

Throughout the pandemic, nurses have been at the forefront of the fight not only to treat the sick but also to fix our ailing medical system. Tonia Bazel didn’t want to strike during a pandemic, taking time away from the patients on the infectious disease floor where she works. Nevertheless, she and the other nurses at Albany Medical Center in New York took to the picket line on December 1 . They had been bargaining for two...

Dr. Fauci Says It's Nurses, Not Him, Who Are Inspiring The Next Generation

Jan 26, 2021

In November 2020, there were over 700,000 google searches on “how to become a nurse” and other related keywords. Now, more than ever, individuals want to become nurses. High school and college students are watching the pandemic unfold on TV and nurses are at the forefront of the fight. Most feel a need to help others, some are drawn to the fast-paced intensity of units such as the ICU and ER, and others see the job advertisements...

US Lawmakers Approve $900 Billion Coronavirus Aid Package

Jan 12, 2021

Problem Solvers Caucus co-chairs Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., at podium, and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., right, speak to the media with members of their caucus about the expected passage of the emergency COVID-19 relief bill, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, on… The U.S. Congress has passed a massive year-end bill that includes a $900 billion coronavirus aid package and $1.4 trillion...

HHS Releases $20B More in CARES Act Relief, But Warns: Don’t Wait to Apply

Oct 02, 2020

The federal government on Thursday announced an additional tranche of $20 billion in coronavirus relief funding for a wide swath of health care providers, with the caveat that interested parties should apply as soon as possible. Starting October 5, the Department of Health and Human Services will begin accepting applications for the Phase 3 General Distribution of COVID-19 relief, specifically targeting the following types of...

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