Grade: D+

The 1998 Health and Human Needs Assessment for Boone County indicated 31.7% of Columbia residents rated finding adequate home health care services as a major or moderate neighborhood problem, and finding quality nursing home care was a major or moderate problem for 45.9% of Columbia residents.

Baseline Analysis:

The services performed by caregivers in all segments of the senior care delivery system (home health, residential care services, and skilled care services) are invaluable to maintaining the health, safety and well being of elderly residents. These services provided to our elderly residents are dependent upon the availability, skills and continuing contributions of caregivers.

• We need to cooperate with community efforts to attract workers, investigate and promote volunteer programs to assist our senior citizens.

• Promotion of the status, as well as providing support and career opportunities for caregivers in all segments of the care delivery system, will help create a more positive image of this field of work, and focus on the positive rewarding aspects of caregiver work. Encourage students to pursue health care career opportunities and health occupation programs through public schools career pathways.

• Training programs and workshops need to be open and available to all caregivers (family members as well as those interested in various employment opportunities in home care, personal care attendants, nurse assistants, etc.). A base of core competencies for caregivers and increased training opportunities for various areas of employment.

• Recognize that the jobs of caregivers take them into individuals' homes as well as various levels of long-term care facilities of our community, and provide work-ethic training as well as occupational training.

• Public policy or regulatory issues at the state government level need to be identified and reviewed for changes to positively impact caregivers and the services they can perform.

• Compensation of caregivers and reimbursement rates need to be high enough to support employment of a professional well-trained pool of caregivers being available to serve the needs of our most vulnerable citizens. We can promote acknowledgement of caregiver efforts in both tangible and intangible ways.

This is the first year for this committee and the committee met nine times gathering information from the nursing home administrator, career center facility, Division of Aging, Missouri Association of Homes for the Aging director, School of Nursing representative, and member's expertise. Members include individuals seeking caregivers for aged parents living in their homes, local not-for-profit agencies concerned with seniors, nursing home administrators, residential care facility administrators, and School of Nursing faculty. We feel one of our strengths has been our diversity and the ability to bring a wide variety of people to the table to hear the issues, have input and work together in creative possible solutions.

• Arrange and facilitate a large number of community members who work with seniors to meet regularly at the same table.

• Encourage young people to enter the field.

• Support statewide efforts to increase compensation for caregivers.

• Enlarging the existing Senior Network to include more community representatives of seniors.

• Speaking at career days, providing job mentoring and shadowing opportunities for younger school students with a video created to encourage caregivers.

• Begin a care team program through Boone County Council on Aging to assist seniors in their homes, and caregivers in the homes, resolve differences, expectations and rewards.

• Work with the Community Partnership to elevate senior issues in the community focus.

• Participate in the recently established Governors Task Force on Aging.

Contacts:

Marcia Walker - Executive Director, Meals on Wheels, 886-7554.

Mary Reams - University Nurses Senior Care, 884-3402.