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New from PHI’s National Clearinghouse

November 10, 2015

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

Why They Stay: Retention Strategies for Long-Term Care — Nearly 40 long-serving employees at a Florida long-term care company, including many direct-care staff, were surveyed to determine the reasons they have remained at their jobs so long in such a high-turnover field. The results, published in the November issue of Provider, show that long-serving employees chose to stay because they feel an attachment to the organization and its mission. They also feel like they are actively involved with the day-to-day running of the organization, and feel as though the company is committed to them as employees.

Connecticut’s “Money Follows the Person” Yields Positive Results for Transitioning People Out of Institutions — This study, which appears in the October issue of Health Affairs, uses survey data to evaluate the Money Follows the Person demonstration program in Connecticut. More than 2,200 people in Connecticut used Money Follows the Person to transition out of long-term institutions and into home and community-based settings. The researchers found that just 14 percent of program participants ended up being reinstitutionalized, most often due to an undetected mental disability or difficulties with family members.

Understanding Elderspeak from the Perspective of Certified Nursing Assistants — Researchers surveyed more than two dozen certified nursing assistants about their use of “elderspeak,” a patronizing way of speaking to elders as if they were children. The results, published in the November issue of the Journal of Gerontological Nursing, show that CNAs say they use elderspeak to make elders feel more comfortable and to seem friendlier themselves. Several reported that they were more likely to use elderspeak with elders who have dementia. Some CNAs responded that they felt elderspeak was never appropriate to use. 

Helping Individuals with Dementia Live More Fully Through Person-Centered Practices — Also published in the November Journal of Gerontological Nursing, this article describes the importance of using person-centered practices when providing supports and services for people with dementia. The authors stress that people with dementia can and do live fully realized lives, but generally require mindful, person-centered assistance from caregivers to remain fully engaged with the world around them.

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 1,300 articles, reports, issue briefs, and fact sheets on the direct-care workforce.

— by Matthew Ozga

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