Private Duty Today

How SOPA and PIPA will Impact Private Duty Home Care Companies

2012-01-18T12:31:00.000-05:00

I'm usually hesitant to express my personal political views. Private Duty Home Care owners cover the gamut from extremely conservative to extremely liberal, and everywhere in between.

Because of that, at Private Duty Today our official policy is to inform readers about the impact of legislation and its lawmakers on our businesses, but not spout opinion. We try to provide insight, but not influence.

However, I'm going to make an exception today. There are two bills about to go to legislative debate, one in the House and one in the Senate. While these two bills have broad bipartisan support, they have virtually no support in the eyes of the American public. OpenCongress.org a non-partisan non-profit public information database which tracks users opinions on upcoming and past legislation, shows the bill at 98% opposed.

The bills are House bill HR 3261, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Senate Bill S. 968, Protect IP Act (PIPA). I believe these bills are dangerous, and a legitimate threat to our businesses.

The bills are nearly identical. Here is a quick bullet list of the provisions.

It gives the ability of content creators (i.e. music industry, film industry, television industry, book publishers, etc.) to request a court order against foreign websites that pirate and republish their content.
It gives the federal government the ability to do the same for websites that are criminal or pose a threat to homeland security.
It gives courts the ability to shut down these websites at the DNS level or IP level, essentially shutting them down within the framework of the Internet.
Additionally, it gives courts the ability to do the same to any website providing support links or services to these illegal sites.

Okay, so now you're saying to yourself, "But Jason, this has nothing to do with me or my business."

I wish that were the case. In fact, it impacts every American. Here's how, and why.

First, a little history.

Prior to our last election, companies such as Comcast, Verizon, and other telecommunications providers, in cooperation with the entertainment industry pressed for a bill that would allow them to choose what websites travel over their wires. This would allow companies to charge websites for access to their subscribers. It would essentially create a cable TV version of the Internet. A movement called Net Neutrality grew and the bills were shut down. The American people wanted the ability to access the entire Internet regardless of which service provider wired their homes.

In this election cycle the content providers funded election campaigns on both sides of the aisle heavily. They spent a total of $94 million on congressional campaigns for currently sitting members of Congress. This number doesn't include money spent on Senate campaigns. This also doesn't include the money poured into campaign coffers of candidates who failed to get elected. The real money spent could be double.

The SOPA and PIPA bills are how the entertainment industry expects to recoup those "donations".

There are three major problems with these bills that are significant. The third one will directly influence your business.

First, the laws won't work. Unfortunately, piracy is a multibillion-dollar industry, and electronic pirates understand the Internet better than any other group.

Shutting down websites is roughly the equivalent of plugging a hole in a dam with chewing gum. A typical pirate website survives 24 to 96 hours. There is a relatively good system in place for shutting them down, unfortunately, it's easy to rebuild them and hard to prosecute the actual criminals.
The federal government has no interest in shutting down sites that threaten homeland security. These websites give valuable information to the intelligence community. Additionally, the Patriot Act already gives them this power.
Most criminal activity conducted online is done through a collection of computers, not individual websites. Viruses identify computers that are unprotected and left connected. Bits of information are stored on tens of thousands of computers. When you download a pirated movie, that movie is not streamed from servers (which would cost the hackers money) but from individual computers known as zombies. Shutting down these individual PCs has absolutely no effect. This technology is used by hackers, spammers, and fishers. It's also, however used by many online games, by many universities, and even by companies such as Netflix that need to transmit huge amounts of data in a short period of time. The technology is legal and has legitimate uses, so they can't simply ban the software.

Second, potential for abuse is high. There are lots of scenarios where content creators would desire to shut down a website. Here are a couple potential examples of abuse.

A blogger creates a movie review video blog. He/she gives the film a bad review, using a snippet of the film in the example. This is known as sampling, and it's legal under the freedom of the press. However, if the copyright holder of the film sees it, a court order could have the entire blog shut down. This would inhibit reviews of any content except by the organizations that the entertainment industry permits to use their content.
An individual author publishes a biography on a hot topic. The author spends several weeks researching and writing, and publishes it at no cost directly to e-book readers at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This is a perfectly legal endeavor. However, a major publishing house, publishing a book on the same topic is able to convince a judge that this book may contain stolen information. The judge then sign a court order shutting down both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. These major websites will immediately remove the content to prevent the shutdown. Months later after a long court battle, the author has proven that his/her book is original and legal. Unfortunately, the major publisher has already developed their own work on the subject. After a long and expensive court battle, the author has missed opportunity for success.
The following example actually happened! Sen. Lamar Smith, the sponsor of this bill, used a photo on his website they downloaded from Flickr. The original photographer allowed free use with the stipulation that he received appropriate credit. Sen. Smith's website did not give him credit. Under the current law, the photographer would have been able to contact the website. The webmaster would either give the photographer credit, or remove the content. If this wasn't done the photographer could pursue civil action. However, with the new bill, SOPA, this photographer could have gone to a judge and received a court order. The court order could have shut down Sen. Smith's website for the duration of a legal battle. An individual photographer probably wouldn't bother, but someone competing for Sen. Smith's congressional seat would have certainly benefited.

This bill contains no provisions whatsoever for due process. Any organization that has persuasive powers with a single judge wields great power over the Internet. The real threat for abuse lies with the entertainment industry who is ensconced in politics.

Let's assume the law does work. Let's even say that the good people of America choose never to abuse the law. There is a third reason, and this is most important to you, why this is a bad piece of legislation.

Third, responsibility is placed at the domain level. Additionally, the law applies not only to the originators of pirated content, but additionally to support websites such as blog platforms, PayPal and other commerce venues, social networks and social bookmarks. Because of this responsibility, most major websites will have to make significant policy changes to prevent violating the US law. It's these policy changes that will affect your business. Here are some examples.

You produce a video commercial for your agency. You upload it to YouTube, and embed it on your website for free. Under the new law you either need to file copyright notices verifying that you own the content, which takes time and costs money, or you need to purchase hosting services and pay for bandwidth and technical support.
Under the law, you are unlikely to be able to post links on Facebook, Linked In or other social networks. These networks will have to much at stake to allow random links. You will end up using their services to create pages, and these pages will have to be screened for intellectual content prior to publishing. The process of using social networks will slow dramatically. Additionally, as this happens fewer and fewer users will rely on these networks.
You build a great website and have excellent search engine rank. However, Google's policy on linking will have to change. You will have to verify ownership of your content to get listed. Search Engine Optimization as we know it will cease to exist.
Your blog, currently hosted for free on Blogger or WordPress will now be screened to be certain that you own 100% of the content. Blogging platforms will become expensive to use.
Services such as Twitter and social bookmarking sites such as Reddit or Digg will no longer be able to allow user generated links, virtually eliminating usefulness.
It will become more difficult and more expensive to market any services or products online!

I've created a long list of very specific examples of how your favorite websites will be directly effected by this law. You can read it on my personal blog.

The entertainment industry including all major television networks, major film studios, record labels, book publishers and sports leagues all support this bill. They've made claims of losing money to piracy for more than three decades, starting in the days of recordable cassette tapes.

Here are the facts:

Every one of these industries benefits from piracy. People who steal movies and music tend to brag about it, generating hype. People who steal movies and music won't pay for it, they will simply steal something else if the content they want isn't available.
CD and book sales have dropped, however, devices for reading and listening are generating tremendous revenues. People are still spending money on entertainment, however, they have many more choices of content.
Today individuals and small companies can produce quality entertainment at a fraction of the cost, and published these products virtually for free. Advertising supports the vast majority of these platforms.
The banking industry also supports this bill because it will eliminate small businesses from using cheap online credit card processing such as PayPal. PayPal will be forced to verify that every product offered is not counterfeit or pirated.
Publishing platforms such as Kindle will only be open to people with verified copyrights. This means a long copyright process, or using a traditional publishing house.
Revenues from film are up substantially. Box office records have been set in spite of piracy. Online companies such as Netflix and pay-per-view paid huge dollars to content providers for streaming video. The DVD platform will be extinct within five years. Profitability for content is increasing dramatically because it no longer relies on first-time viewership in the theater nor first run on television. Small cable networks are realizing huge profits from original content.
Two of the top 20 shows watched on the Internet were never on television. The big four television networks are uncomfortable at the thought of legitimate competition online.

I urge you to please contact the two senators in your state and your local representative in Congress. Tell them three things:

SOPA and PIPA do not provide adequate due process.
Both bills will hinder all small businesses in marketing and increase expenses for small content providers.
Both bills will require significant policy change at every major website. These policies will inhibit freedom of speech, freedom of protest, and freedom to assemble. In this way they circumvent the Constitution.

Finally, make sure to tell your Senators and members of Congress that you are a voter. Tell them your party affiliation, because they need to recognize that members of their own party are against this bill. Tell them that you will vote against any member of Congress or the Senate that votes in favor of either bill.

There are catchphrases being thrown around by legislators. Here's what they may say, and the facts.

Stopping piracy and counterfeit goods is important. -- We agree. Piracy and counterfeiting are wrong, however neither bill will be effective in this war. Existing copyright, patent and licensing laws currently allow for civil action in many cases.
It only applies to foreign websites. -- Untrue. Because of policy changes required, it will affect every major website. Facebook last month surpassed 1 billion users. Facebook is nearly 3 times the size of the United States, and it's not even available in China, yet. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google, eBay are American companies that have global reach. Any law affecting foreign websites directly affects Americans.
Homeland security depends on it. -- Untrue! A free and open Internet has been proven to enhance homeland security, not vice versa. In fact, in the countries where the Internet is censored, (China, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Egypt, Libya, Iran and others) there have been more uprisings and civil unrest than in any previous time in our world history.
Jobs depend on it. -- Untrue! Yesterday Lamar Smith threw the word "jobs" into the mix for the first time. He recognizes that job creation is the single most important issue on Americans' minds. It is a ruse. The bill was not created to increase jobs. In fact, many jobs will be lost if some of our major websites are no longer able to earn revenue or suffer a reduction in revenues. Today the fastest-growing job sectors are in the technology industries. This bill actually hampered job growth.

Members of Congress and the Senate need to realize that lobbyists and donors certainly have influence in legislation, however Americans are not willing to stand for violations of basic freedoms.

Today you may have noticed Google, Wikipedia, WordPress, OpenCongress and many other websites have staged additional protests. The internet companies are trying to raise awareness because network news agencies are all owned companies that fund these bills.

These bills have a significant chance of being passed because of bipartisan support. Additionally, most Americans are unenlightened when it comes to the impact. The only way we will be able to convince our legislature to do the right thing is to make it clear that their jobs depend on supporting their constituency, not their donors.

Obviously, I have strong opinions about the subject. I invite you to do your own research, and formulate your own opinions. If anything above doesn't make sense, or is inaccurate, I invite you to place your comments below, completely uncensored! I am in favor of healthy debate.

Sincerely,

Jason Tweed
Editor, Private Duty Today

President Obama proposes to eliminate the Companion Exemtion from overtime and minimum wage.

2011-12-15T14:28:00.003-05:00

President Obama today, (12-15-11) put forth a new regulation designed to eliminate the Companionship Exemption from minimum wage and overtime in the Fair Labor Standards Act. This is another initiative in the President's "we can't wait" campaign against Congress. It is also in opposition to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld home care workers' exemption from wage and hour standards.

An article in USA Today on 12-15-11 provided some interesting facts about this issue:

home care workers today are part of a growing $70 billion industry that has doubled in size during the past decade
The nation's over-65 population is projected to grow from 40 million to 72 million by 2030
27 million Americans will need home care by 2050, the government estimates.
More than 90% of home care workers are women, and nearly 50% are minorities.
they average $17,000 to $20,000 a year — more than the $7.25-per-hour minimum wage,
About 1.6 million of the 1.8 million workers are employed by agencies that pay more than the minimum wage but not overtime.
Home care costs Medicaid and Medicare about $56 billion annually.
The proposed change is projected to cost about $100 million a year, mostly in overtime costs
The exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act's wage and overtime rules dates to 1974.
President Clinton sought to change it shortly before leaving office in 2001, but President George W. Bush reversed that effort
Obama co-sponsored Senate legislation in 2007 that would have ended the exemption for most home care workers.
As an Illinois state senator in 2003, he voted to raise the pay of home care workers to $9 an hour.

The National Association for Home Care and Hospice says the change would lead the agencies to hire more workers, rather than pay overtime rates.

"The worker is not getting anything out of it," says Bill Dombi, the group's vice president for law. "Instead, the employer ends up with higher costs because they have to hire more people."

Eventually, he says, an aging society will outpace the industry's ability to serve it, leading to cost overruns for federal and state government programs serving the elderly and disabled.

The Home Care Association of Florida opposes the plan to eliminate the companionship services exemption at the state and federal level until a comprehensive plan can be implemented that addresses service funding, worker health insurance and career development for home health aides.

HCAF urges owners, adminstrators, and CEOs of home health agencies and private duty home care companits to send an urgent message to your Senators and Members of Congress to oppose President Obama's call to tend the companionship exemption.

What do you think about this issue? Give us your comments.

The Caring Self: The Work Experiences of Home Care Aides

2011-12-15T13:11:00.003-05:00

Posted by Stephen Tweed

Every owner, CEO, and administrator of a private duty home care business should read the book, The Caring Self: The Work Experiences of Home Care Aides, by Clare L. Stacey. An assistant professor of Sociology at Kent State University, Ms. Stacy interviewed 33 home care aides in California and Ohio in order to understand their life and working conditions.

One of the major insights coming out of her work is the concept of "emotional capital" and how it affects caregivers on the job. Emotional capital is a resource that is developed through "affective ties to children, spouses, and extended families that nurtures and sustains family bonds." This emotional capital is a valuable resource for paid caregivers.

Here some other insights relative to home care aides:

Workers who face intense emotional demands in the workplace, especially nursing homes, are more likely to leave the job, become depressed, or experience burn out.
Emotional ties to clients can be a source of job satisfaction, as well as a source of strain.
Some caregivers get meaning from the interpersonal pressures at work
Women clearly amass emotional capital at rates greater than men
Emotions are important resources that enable workers to manage human interaction on the job
Years of providing family care prepares them for a career as a paid caregiver.
Emotional capital accrues in the lives of home care aides as they move from unpaid to paid caregiving.
Aides view their emotional commitments to their clients in a overwhelmingly positive light
This emotional skill set affords aides a certain degree of expertise and competency on the job
Aides see the skills associated with caregiving as being largely emotional and relational rather than physical or technical.

The interviews of these home caregivers revealed some other very interesting perspectives that home care company owners should consider:

Feeling like part of the family of the client helps reinforce job satisfaction and identity formation on the job.
Aides expend emotional labor helping clients manage their families, especially in those circumstances when family members are absent.
Aides often witness unhealthy family dynamics first hand
Sometimes, dealing with families is worse than dealing with the client.
Aides view themselves as offering comprehensive care that includes both physical and emotional components.
Aides resent clients who are mobile, active and socially engaged and treat home care as a house cleaning service
Doing more cleaning than caring leads some aides to feel aliated from their professional work or "calling."

Inspite of all of these emotional issues connected to the job of being a home caregiver, aides get great satisfaction from their work:

"Even in the context of low occupational prestige and poor wages, home care aides assign meaning to their physical and emotional labor so as to remind themselves and others of the social value of their work."

Aides in this study construct meaning at work in three primary ways:

by describing their care as a natural ability or gift
by framing their care as a service to others
by drawing clear social boundaries between themselves and "uncaring others".

This book is a quick read, and you'll get some insights that will help you better understand the emotional capital needed to do this job well. We're looking at this in the context of selecting candidates for the caregiver role, and how we can incorporate emotions into the caregiver selection process that is part of Caregiver Quality Assurance.

Let us know what you think after reading this book.

Reader Survey Results: Social Media Marketing in Private Duty Home Care

2011-11-15T12:01:00.001-05:00

Reader Survey

2011-11-01T12:56:00.000-04:00

When it comes to social media marketing, private duty home care companies have seen mixed results and have varying opinions on the importance of company blogs, Facebook, Twitter and others. This month's Reader Survey will give us a snapshot of what's working, what's not, and does any of it matter. Please participate, and our next issue of Private Duty Today, November 16, we will share the results.

This short survey consists of 14 questions and takes approximately 4-5 minutes.

Begin the Survey

Technology Helps Ease Family Caregiver Concerns

2011-10-25T17:54:00.001-04:00

By Natalie Lyda, Guest Writer

The rigors of family caregiving affect an estimated 22% of the American population who provide unpaid care for an adult family member or friend. While most family caregivers are more than willing to commit much of their time and energy to providing care, the stress of constantly caring for an aging or ill loved one can produce a lofty strain on emotions, finances and health. When the burden on a caregiver’s own family, career or health becomes too severe, the services of private duty in-home care agencies often provide the reprieve.

Private duty homecare providers provide respite for weary family caregivers who may be otherwise unable to leave an elderly loved one home alone. However, while the services of homecare agencies are meant to be a positive addition to the chain of elder care, leaving an elderly family member with a paid professional creates unexpected worries for many.

In a recent market research survey of 100 family caregivers, conducted by homecare software company ClearCare, the primary concerns of individuals utilizing homecare were examined. Among the most common worries noted in the survey were the quality of care, dietary intake, hygienic upkeep, and social interaction amongst private duty providers and senior clients.

One way to ease concerns of family caregivers is the integration of technology in private duty homecare services. While most homecare owners use software systems for managing finances and communicating via the internet, advances in technology over the past decade have developed the ability for homecare providers to take advantage of technology for managing care plans, updating family clients and monitoring senior clients when they are home alone.

The leading private duty in-home care agencies increasingly enable family caregivers to have visibility to the point-of-care so that they can be certain that the tasks they are most concerned about; like feedings and caregiver clock-in times, are being tracked in real-time. This represents a major leap forward from the traditional practice of paper care logs that are collected after shifts have already been completed – typically days later! The real-time tracking lets the agencies and family members know exactly what has been completed and when via the agency’s portal.

Beyond software utilized while care providers are in the home, advanced sensor monitoring systems allow homecare managers, and family caregivers, to essentially keep an eye on the elderly individual without being physically present. Elder monitoring systems go to work after the home has been outfitted with specialized cameras and sensors that track a senior’s movement within their own home. Dependent on the system, everything from movement throughout the home to the opening of doors and impacts from falls are tracked. The data gathered is then immediately sent to family members and care managers via email or phone alert.

Regardless of the type of technology that best suits your homecare service, embracing technological advances targeted to the private duty sector can help a homecare business thrive. Work more efficiently, communicate more effectively, provide superior service and ease the concerns of clientele by becoming a tech savvy elder care provider!

Natalie Lyda is a writer and blogger. She has experienced the difficulties of family caregiving personally and strives to provide relevant information for caregivers. Her work can be seen weekly at http://clearcareonline.com/blog and she can be contacted at nlyda@clearcareonline.com.

CLASS ACT dropped by Obama Administration

2011-10-14T17:47:00.001-04:00

The Obama administration Friday (10-14-11) pulled the plug on a major program in the president's signature health overhaul law – a long-term care insurance plan dogged from the beginning by doubts over its financial solvency.

Known as CLASS, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program was a longstanding priority of the late Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Although sponsored by the government, it was supposed to function as a self-sustaining voluntary insurance plan, open to working adults regardless of age or health. Workers would pay an affordable monthly premium during their careers, and could collect a modest daily cash benefit of at least $50 if they became disabled later in life. The money could go for services at home, or to help with nursing home bills.

But a central design flaw dogged CLASS. Unless large numbers of healthy people willingly sign up during their working years, soaring premiums driven by the needs of disabled beneficiaries would destabilize it, eventually requiring a taxpayer bailout.

Home Instead Senior Care Featured in SKY Magazine

2011-10-13T20:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was flying back from Montgomery, Alabama where I had been speaking to the Alabama Hospice Organization. On the trip from Montgomery to Atlanta, I glanced at the seat back copy of SKY magazine, and there was a feature story on Omaha, NE. Having been to Omaha, and enjoying my visits there very much, I read the story.

There, on page 102, was the face of a leader in private duty home care in America, Paul Hogan, founder and Chairman of Home Instead Senior Care. The largest private duty franchise company in the world, Home Instead has close to 1,000 franchises in all 50 states and 15 other countries. The franchise system generated more than $750 million in client revenue and served more than 1 million clients worldwide.

While Home Instead may be a competitor of yours, it's terrific to see articles like this because they spread the word about private duty home care to consumers all across the country. Who knows how many people read that article. Many of them are high income or high net worth individuals who have the potential to buy private duty home care services.

If you know of other feature articles in national publications that feature a successful home care company, let us know and we'll promote it as well.

Comfort Keepers Recognized As a Fast-Growing Company

2011-09-07T07:45:00.002-04:00

In a story on ABCnews' website, Comfort Keepers was recognized as one of 10 companies currently hiring the most people. Of the companies profiled, many were in the tech industry or the financial industry. It's exciting to see a private duty home care company recognize in this group of fast-growing companies. As an industry we need to constantly talk about growth. Remember, it's not the size of your slice, it's the size of the pie that matters! Kudos to Comfort Keepers.

Close More Sales With Effective Communication

2011-03-09T22:45:00.000-05:00

Men and women communicate differently. According to some, women want you to understand they are from Venus; while men want to teach you to build rocket ships, preferably from duct tape.

Let's face it, people don't always tell us what they want and need directly.

A good private duty salesperson learns to listen between the words. Often the questions people ask don't get to the root of why they are buying your services, or more importantly, why they aren't going to buy your services.

Critical listening is one of the most important components of the sales process. Too often sales people rehearse their presentation, but miss the sale because they presented an offering that wasn't appropriate.

When families ask, "What are your hourly rates?", often they want to know, "Can I afford care?". This makes the salesperson's job more difficult because frequently the families don't even know the questions to ask to get the information they need and want.

Good fact-finding questions and critical listening are keys to sales success.

Find the family's true motivation, and you will be able to answer their questions appropriately and close the sale.

Family caregivers frequently need respite care, but sometimes they see it as one more service they need to manage. Reluctance to using respite often stems from being overwhelmed already. Focus on rest and relaxation that respite can provide.

Privacy is a critical issue for many families. They need help, but are concerned about having an outside individual come into their home on a regular basis.

Some families want caregivers who become part of their family. Other families want caregivers to blend into the surroundings and become a resource.

Questions about personal care can stem from guilt. The son or daughter knows they can't provide appropriate care with dignity, and may know they don't have the training needed. Focus on the improved quality of life, independence, and dignity that quality care provides.

Questions about background checks and drug screenings often mask the real concern. They want to know if you are going to provide security or added risk. Refocus these conversations to discuss integrity and honesty.

It's impossible to present a valid solution until you know the problems a family wants to address, the real problems.

When meeting with a potential client or referral source, introduce yourself in an interesting way, indentify similarities to build rapport. Then, stop talking. Just listen. Listen not to the words, but to the message and motivation behind those words.

Only after identifying true need will you be able to offer the right solution, and close more sales.

Hundreds of Home Care Providers will meet in Las Vegas for NPDA Annual Leadership Conference

2011-01-13T11:28:00.000-05:00

The non-profit National Private Duty Association (NPDA) will host its Annual Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, March 2-4, 2011. The theme for the event, held at the Planet Hollywood Resort, is Take the Gamble Out of Home Care.

The conference, open to all private duty home care companies, will include peer networking and discussion opportunities, education programs led by private duty industry experts, and an industry trade show. Session topics will cover hiring practices, caregiver training, client support, business marketing strategies, legal issues and technology.

Keynote presenters include best selling author Dr. Tom Barrett who will address the little things home care agency leaders can do every day to attract and retain clients, and human resources expert Mel Kleiman who will share his proven process on how to build world-class teams by recruiting, hiring and retaining the best employees.

Conference attendees will witness many firsts in the private duty home care industry, including the naming of the industry’s first national Caregiver of the Year. Another first is the All-Star Panel of experts who will address key issues impacting private duty home care businesses, including health care reform and wage and hour laws.

“We are expecting this to be the largest event in the history of the private duty home care industry,” said Sheila McMackin, president of NPDA. “NPDA’s intent is to provide an opportunity for home care agency professionals to learn the latest trends from industry leaders and the best business practices from thought leaders outside our industry.”

In addition to the main conference, a pre-conference event titled NPDA’s Private Duty “MBA Program” – Grow, Profit, Exit will take place March 1, 2011. Featured speakers for this event will be George Hedley, Hardhat Presentations; Steve LeFever, Business Resource Services; and Dexter Braff, the Braff Group.

Visit http://www.privatedutyhomecare.org/2011conference/ for details on the conference and to register.

Personal care providers top the list of careers with high rates of depression.

2011-01-06T13:23:00.000-05:00

Personal care providers top the list of careers with high rates of depression. In one study nearly 11% of people in this field reported a bout of major depression in the past year. The rate in the general population is about 7%.

The stress of caring for people, many of whom are sick or disabled, coupled with the fact that few personal care providers receive positive reinforcement for their work.

Christopher Willard, clinical psychologist from Tufts University, was quoted on health.com as saying "[Care recipients] are often incapable of expressing gratitude or appreciation because they are too ill or two young or just aren't in the habit of it."

Of the 21 major job categories in the study, personal care providers ranked highest among full-time workers who are most likely to report an episode of major depression in a year.

Ranked #4 was health care professionals including doctors, nurses and therapists.

The only individuals reporting more bouts of depression based on career were unemployed individuals at about 13%.

Here's the full top 10 list of careers with high rates of depression:

Personal care providers
food service staff
social workers
healthcare workers
artists, entertainers, and writers
teachers
administrative support staff
maintenance workers and groundskeepers
financial advisors and accountants
salespeople

Source: health.com

NPDA Responds to Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act

2010-08-03T09:18:00.000-04:00

On July 28th, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA) introduced the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act. One of the goals of the act is to mandate overtime pay for in-home caregivers. While in most scenarios overtime pay is appropriate, an across the board mandate may be problematic for some consumers and business owners.

Kim Stoneking, Executive Director of NPDA, issued the following statement to association members and asked members to contact their U.S. Representative.

"[The National Private Duty Association (NPDA)] likes Rep. Sanchez's goal of professionalizing in-home care and making sure that there is a trained, compensated and professional direct care workforce, we can not support her goal of mandating the payment of overtime for in-home caregivers."

On the NPDA website they provided the following sample text outlining reasons to reject the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act.

1. The National Private Duty Association (NPDA) is an association of companies that employ in-home companion caregivers who go to the homes of seniors and people with disabilities to provide the care needed for these people to remain in their homes

2. NPDA agrees with the goal of "professionalizing" in-home companion care. But, the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act, requires changes to accommodate affordability and other issues unique to in-home companion care.

     A. NPDA supports some of the goals of the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act - for example, NPDA member companies are committed to hiring and fielding a trained, professional workforce of in-home companion care workers. NPDA also supports payment of at least minimum wage to in-home companion caregivers.

          i. NPDA companies pay their employees at least, and usually considerably more than, minimum wage.
         ii. Training should be a function of a company-caregiver partnership, pursuant to standards developed by consensus among those in the industry (employers and workers), service recipients and policymakers. Legislation must not interfere with this important consensus function.
        iii. NPDA is heavily involved in developing and implementing training programs for the professional caregivers employed by NPDA member companies.

     B. NPDA opposes mandating overtime for in-home companion caregivers.

          i. In some instances, caregivers spend the night--and sleep most of it--in the homes of their clients. Making these overnight hours subject to overtime rules will make this service unaffordable for many--perhaps most--of its users. This means seniors and people with disabilities will be forced into institutional care solely due to the need for someone to be in the home--even though sleeping--during overnight hours.

      C.   Seniors and people with disabilities frequently prefer the same caregiver (or small group of caregivers). Restricting a caregiver's work hours to no more than 8 hours/day or 40 hours/week could upset these essentially personal relationships, causing the senior/person with disability to have to settle for less care than they need, or to deal with more caregivers than they would prefer. At a minimum, the rules should allow for flexibility in scheduling hours of care to accommodate the very personal nature of the services being provided.

2. The Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act rightly recognizes the preference of employee caregivers over referrals to individuals--many of whom have little or no training, and little or no knowledge of self-employment responsibilities. The legislation rightly acknowledges the professionalism of in-home non-medical caregivers. Its approach to professionalism of the caregiving workforce--particularly with respect to training, accountability, and minimum wage requirements, will help close the tax gap attributable to independent contractors who don't know
and therefore don't comply with their tax liability responsibilities. NPDA strongly supports legislation that helps to address the serious problem with worker classification that exists in the field of in-home caregiving.

In summary, while NPDA supports the goals of the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act, it is crucially important that the legislation be modified to accommodate the unique concerns of the in-home caregiving industry. NPDA is ready and willing to work with Rep. Sanchez and all other interested lawmakers to achieve the appropriate balance between encouraging correct worker classification, promoting the professionalism of in-home caregivers, and accommodating the cost and other considerations unique to in-home caregiving.

Eldercare Mediators May Bring New Clients

2010-01-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

Eldercare mediation is a growing business that often benefits other non-medical home care companies. Eldercare mediators are nurses, social workers, gerontologists or attorneys that have taken specific mediation courses dealing with family issues of elder care.

They act as a knowledgeable third party member that helps with the decision-making processes. Armed with a clear focus and state of mind, they know how to guide family conversations to be as productive and peaceful as possible. The eldercare mediator is able to go in-depth about the pros and cons for a variety of options in care and services available for the senior.

An eldercare mediation discussion can include living arrangements and possible assistance for the parent(s), driving abilities, end-of-life provisions, financial concerns, trust and estate issues, division of responsibility amongst the siblings, etc. If your current customers are experiencing problems with any of these issues, you can direct them to an eldercare mediator, which typically charge between $100 - $300 per hour.

It may be an expensive investment for some of your potential customers that need that extra help communicating with their aging parents, but it is worth your time offering this option to them. If the family decides that a private duty caregiver is the best option, your company will be a no-brainer to work with because of your knowledgeable advice.

Financial Misconceptions of Hiring a Friend or Family Caregiver

2010-01-03T12:30:00.000-05:00

Customers may be tempted to try to hire a caregiver that is paid “under the table” outside of your company, such as a friend or family member, in an effort to save money and extra paperwork. Unfortunately, these families often overlook the legal fine print and put their senior and themselves in jeopardy of financial ruin.

A common misunderstanding is that family help is just that, help. Some family caregivers may feel that they are not “true” trained caregivers, so there is no point in setting up an employer and employee relationship.

According to Jill Senso, an education coordinator with the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP), “The worker becomes your employee if you control what work is done and how it is done.”

This applies to family care giving over a vast grey area. It starts with phone call check-ups, then short visits, running errands, and eventually a schedule is set to meet the needs of the elder and the caregiver. This schedule is the beginning of an employer and employee relationship, which involves financial planning and legal paperwork to ensure a smooth journey for both parties.

Obviously family care giving isn’t a good fit for every family, especially when all of the legal risks are taken into consideration. While it might seem like an uneasy choice for customers to invite a non-medical home care company to ensure the health and happiness of an aging parent, there are many benefits.

The choice your customers make about hiring through family or through an agency is based on multiple facets, not just money alone. Openly inform your potential customers about the cons and pros of both. If hiring a family caregiver is more of a hassle than a help, they will appreciate your services more because they know your company is knowledgeable and honest.

Caregiver and Client Relationship Transitions

2009-12-28T10:33:00.004-05:00

It might seem like a simple equation, an elder in need of specific services is matched with a caregiver of compatible experience. Sometimes we get so caught up in just “matching” caregivers to reach our desired number of clients served at a given time that we overlook some of the basics.

After evaluating a potential client’s physical needs, their transition from an independent to dependant lifestyle, are you able to pick up on their emotional transition? If not, you are also unable to critically match your clients with caregivers, and reach your maximum customer satisfaction potential.

Many caregivers and care receivers go through three distinct phases of emotional transition:

Denial transition. This is a time when neither the caregiver nor the care receiver is emotionally ready to accept the situation. This creates a lot of tension in the relationship.

Mourning transition. This can lead to aggression, anger, or depression about the situation or toward people.

Adjustment transition. This is when both the caregiver and the care receiver have accepted the situation and are able to develop coping skills. The energy of the relationship is focused on helping each other rather than denying or being angry

These transitions vary from client to client, caregiver to caregiver, and of course each individual relationship that each client has with a caregiver. The adjustment transition is the healthiest for both the client and caregiver. Even in denial and mourning transitions, each client and caregiver has the potential to reach the adjustment transition.

When you are starting with a client that is in a denial or mourning transition, match them with a caregiver that has a strong adjustment transition disposition. For clients that change in and out of transitions quickly, match them with a caregiver that is experienced in evaluating and reacting to transitions quickly.

Caregivers that are frequently in denial or mourning transitions may require advanced training. These caregivers can sometimes cause more harm than good, by negatively influencing clients and losing customers.

It does require some extra effort to train your caregivers how to properly recognize and react to different transitions, but it is a win-win situation for both caregivers and clients.
Clients that have a healthy relationship with their caregiver will be easier to work with in the future when their needs change and become more challenging. They will have more positive experiences to share with other potential clients.

Caregiver Connections with Out-of-State Customers

2009-12-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

Many of your customers contact you at the first sign that their aging parents need help. These signs could be a slip in memory or unbalanced footsteps. They have been in close contact with their parents and have the advantage of being able to inform your caregivers about their daily habits or sudden changes in behavior.

Other customers live out-of-state and may have realized that their parent needs help after a traumatic event, such as getting a call from a parent in a hospital for a fractured hip or finding a fridge full of rotten food after a recent visit.

These customers are looking for more than just care for their parents. They need a home care company with strong communication skills to help them maintain a healthy relationship with their parents and understand their changing needs.

Caregivers need to maintain a positive attitude and openly communicate every concern that out-of-state customers may have. For these caregivers, communicating with customers is just as critical as caring for the client. Many times the daughter or son will feel guilty about not being able to visit or care for their parents as often as they would like to. If the caregiver and customer are not communicating about the client’s needs effectively, you could lose both a client and a caregiver over poor communication skills.

Never assume that great caregivers are great communicators. Include training for both customer and client communication skills for you caregivers. Ultimately, effective communication between the caregiver and customer strengthens the care of the client.

Avoid Medicare Marketing Scams

2009-11-03T10:19:00.001-05:00

It is no secret that health care services for the elderly have remained lucrative despite the current economic crisis. Not only are legitimate service providers continuing to grow, but scam artists are also on the rise.

Medicare scams are growing. Coupled with legitimate senior service marketing are scams that defraud Medicare, overcharge seniors, and even scams that use false Medicare marketing to commit identity theft.

Seniors will become victims of Medicare scams in your community, and many could be your clients or potential clients. With their savings drained and trust broken, they may be inclined to refuse any kind of senior care, and influence their friends to do the same.

Educate your caregivers and care managers on how to help your clients avoid Medicare scams. There are some common red flags that may indicate a Medicare scam.

• Charged co-payments on clinical laboratory tests, and on Medicare covered preventive services such as PAP smears, prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests, or flu and pneumonia shots.
• Routinely waived co-payments on any services, other than those previously mentioned, without checking your ability to pay.
• Advertised “free” consultations to People with Medicare.
• Claimed they represent Medicare.
• Used pressure or scare tactics to sell you high priced medical services or diagnostic tests.
• Billed Medicare for services you did not receive.
• Used telemarketing and door-to-door selling as marketing tools

It is also prohibited for Medicare marketers to approach your senior in any of the following situations:

• Door to door solicitation – coming to your home without an invite
• Approaching you in a parking lot, hallway, lobby, etc.
• Unsolicited telephone contact
• Unsolicited emails (unless you have given out your email address)

Direct mail marketing is legal. Legitimate Medicare marketers will use the following language in their printed promotional material.

• Advertising pieces – “This is an advertisement;”
• Plan information – “Important plan information about your enrollment”
• Health – “Health or wellness or prevention information”

If your client feels they may have been a victim of a Medicare scam, refer them to the Office of Inspector General Hotline. This hotline is confidential.

The Hotline can be contacted:

By Phone: 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477)

By Fax: 1-800-223-8164
(no more than 10 pages please)

By E-Mail: HHSTips@oig.hhs.gov

By Mail: Office of the Inspector General
HHS TIPS Hotline
P.O. Box 23489
Washington, DC 20026

If any client or caregiver feels they have suspicions of fraud they can contact the Medicare’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Union Watch: Vote Fails in Illinois

2009-10-21T21:35:00.001-04:00

A vote to unionize caregivers for the developmentally disabled failed by an overwhelming margin this week in Illinois.

Of the more than 3,000 workers in the state's home-based support services program who cast a mail-in ballot, 1,018 opposed union representation, 293 supported joining the Service Employees International Union and 220 voted for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Gov. Patrick Quinn signed an executive order this summer, clearing the way for the workers to unionize. Most of the workers care for the disabled in the patients' homes and receive limited state funding.

Let us know of other efforts to organize home care workers around the country.

Right At Home Expands to the UK

2009-10-21T21:29:00.001-04:00

OMAHA, Neb.-- Right at Home, Inc., a leading provider of in-home companion and personal care
assistance has begun its international expansion with the addition of its first
Master Franchise in the United Kingdom, announced Allen Hager, founder and
president of Right at Home. With more than 165 local franchises in 41 states,
Right at Home will expand into the UK under a Master Franchise Agreement with
Ken Deary who will open the initial location in Preston, England. The company`s
international expansion begins as Right at Home is expecting to grow
domestically by 25 percent in 2009.

Our congratulations to Allen Hager and his team at Right At Home, and to all of the
Right At Home franchisees around the country who are working hard to grow
their businesses.

At Leading Home Care, we are tracking the growth of over 30 franchise companies
that represent over 3,500 locations.

Private Pay Home Care Companies Profit Despite Recession

2009-10-15T08:56:00.000-04:00

National Private Duty Association (NPDA) has discovered some good news for private pay home care companies during a slow economic period. A recent survey of these companies has shown that over 70 percent of businesses are projected to increase their revenues in 2009. As a reflection of this growth, 81 percent of the businesses surveyed are currently hiring caregivers to keep pace with client demand.

The volume of new hires, satisfied clients, and stronger CEOs are helping this country move forward and find success in tough times.

Home care workers face union pressure

2009-10-14T20:35:00.003-04:00

An executive order by Governor Pat Quinn if Illinois is forcing home health care workers in the state who are paid to care for their own family members to join a union. The executive order, left on the Governors desk by his predecessor, Rod Blagojovich, would allow family members who care for their own loved ones to bargain collectively with the state. They will select between the SEIU- Service Employees International Union, and AFSCME - American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.

Union dues will automatically be withheld from their reimbursement checks. An estimated 3,000 family caregivers will join the ranks of the unions of these families cast a ballot in favor of the unions. In some cases, purple shirted SEIU organizers have been knocking on the doors of these family caregivers to urge them to join the union.

This is one more example of how the unions are making inroads into home care by influencing the political process at the state level. What do you think about this situation? Do you have other examples of unions organizing home care workers? Give us your comments below.

The Academy for Private Duty Home Care coming to Louisville

2009-10-13T12:02:00.000-04:00

Two new dates were announced this morning for the Academy for Private Duty Home Care. This full day workshop is for owners and CEOs of non-medical home care companies.

The two new dates are:

December 2, 2009 in Louisville, Kentucky
January 22, 2010 in Sanibel Island, Florida

Registration is open now for Kentucky and will be open soon for Florida.

Here are a couple of links with details.

Join us in Louisville this fall!

Private Duty Franchisor Opens in Toronto, Canada

2009-10-10T08:23:00.004-04:00

Premier Homecare Services, a five year old private duty home care company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is offering franchises across Canada. While several U.S. based franchisors have operating locations in Canada, this is the first Canadian company to enter the marketplace with new franchises.

“We opened our first office in Toronto back in 2003, began franchising in 2008 and now already have 6 locations across Ontario,” reports David Watson, Founder & President. “Many people understand the aging population and the generally shifting preferences toward in-home care. The difference between most people and our franchisees is that our franchisees appreciate that now is the time for them to secure their short and long-term success in this ever more popular marketplace. Our GTA franchise locations offer especially compelling opportunities since our brand has already garnered a respected reputation across much of the region during our 6 years in business.”

This brings to 26 the number of companies offering non-medical home care franchises. According to research conducted by Leading Home Care ... a Tweed Jeffries company, there are about 3,500 home care companies operating as franchises in the U.S.

Grandma Opportunity in Time Magazine

2009-09-29T16:22:00.003-04:00

The September 14, 2009 edition of Time Magazine had a full page article on private duty home care, featuring Home Instead Senior Care, Comfort Keepers, and the National Private Duty Association.

The story began with some history of Paul Hogan how he spent time with his grandmother in his mother's home in Omaha, NE. He asked himself what families did that didn't have kin available to take care of the elders. Providing that answer propelled him to create Home Instead Senior Care and turn it into an international franchise company with 874 locations around the world generating $738 million in revenue.

Articles like this in national media give our industry the public relations push we need to create greater awareness on the part of consumers, families, and potential referral sources.

If you know of other articles like this, please let us know in the comments section below.