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New from PHI’s National Clearinghouse

May 31, 2012

The newest additions to the PHI National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce:

Our Direct-Care Workers: An Overview of the Caregivers in our Workforce — This paper provides a brief overview of the direct-care workforce in the U.S. It uses PHI research findings to detail many of the issues facing the workforce, including low wages, inadequate benefits, and a lack of career advancement opportunities. The paper was published to accompany a May 2012 event held by the Aspen Institute‘s Workforce Strategies Initiative.

Moving Toward Person- and Family-Centered Care — This March 2012 report by AARP defines person- and family-centered care, and outlines the central tenets of each caring philosophy. It explains that family caregivers can be an invaluable source of care for their loved ones. The paper argues that public policies should be instituted to provide greater support to these caregivers, particularly when it comes to coordinating care among nurses, direct-care workers, and other professional caregivers.

Iowa Direct Care Worker Advisory Council: Final Report — This report was delivered to the Iowa legislature by the Iowa Direct Care Worker Advisory Council in March 2012. It recommends several ways that Iowa could strengthen its direct-care workforce in order to better meet the caring needs of residents. For example, the report suggests implementing higher training standards as well as designing career pathways for direct-care workers. These steps would reduce turnover and raise the quality of care in the state, the report argues.

The PHI National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce is a national online library for people in search of solutions to the direct-care staffing crisis in long-term care. It houses over 1,000 articles, reports, issue briefs, and fact sheets on the direct-care workforce.

– by Matthew Ozga

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