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Utilizing Older Caregivers to Fill Labor Gap

2008-03-03T17:09:58Z

The LA Times reports that many businesses are looking to aging and retired workers to fill the critical need for caregivers. Increasingly, these workers are taking part-time or volunteer positions. Loren Shook, President and CEO of San Juan Capistrano based Silverado Senior Living (Goldman client), maintains,

“The labor pool that exists within the senior population is a phenomenal untapped resource. We’re in a world where people age 65 today are generally in good health. They have a lot of energy. These are people who want to make a difference in others’ lives.”

Senior Living Industry Needs Clear Directives from Family Members

2008-02-27T20:39:26Z

Not only did a recent study suggest that antibiotics are overused for people with advanced dementia, it also reveals the importance to the senior living industry of having clear directions for end-life care. The Harvard-affiliated Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston conducted the study, an overview of which appeared in the Associated Press on Feb. 25. More than 200 people with advanced dementias were followed for 18 months or until their deaths. The study addresses ethical questions regarding when to withhold treatment and let people die in a time of the proliferation of drug-resistant superbugs. In doing so, it implicitly drives home the importance to the senior living industry of instituting policies for having unambiguous end-life care instructions from family members for their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Addressing Financial Vulnerability for Seniors Diagnosed With Alzheimer's

2008-02-19T14:39:21Z

A recent article in The Birmingham News highlights the financial difficulties that can arise as a result of an Alzheimer’s or other memory impairment diagnosis. Businesses would do well to recognize that potential clients and their families might have concerns over financial vulnerability and address those worries accordingly.

Discovery During Surgery Might Help Those With Alzheimer's

2008-01-31T14:12:48Z

An accidental discovery during brain surgery in Britain might help people with Alzheimer’s disease, according to an article in the Independent. A man’s memory was increased when electrodes were placed deep in the brain and electrical currents were applied. The purpose of the surgery was to diminish the patient’s appetite but the unintended results started scientists thinking that electrical stimulation of certain areas of the brain could improve memory. The theory is that an ongoing electrical stimulation similar to how a pacemaker works would help patients retain and recall memories. Three patients have been treated with this procedure and initial results are promising according to the story. Deep electrical brain stimulation for the treatment of various diseases is a relatively new procedure that has grown over the last ten years.

Colorado Lawmakers Plan for the Future

2008-01-29T16:55:35Z

According to Channel 9 News in Denver, Colorado, state lawmakers there are introducing Senate Bill 58, which seeks to create an Alzheimer’s Coordinating Council to better plan for the impending increase in Alzheimer’s cases in the state. We recently wrote about the fact that Denver is gaining in popularity among baby boomers. That, coupled with results of a recent Johns Hopkins University study that estimates the number of Alzheimer’s patients worldwide will more than quadruple by 2050, has moved the state legislature to act in what we see as a responsible and timely manner to address the concerns that will inevitably arise as a result of these changing demographics.

Boomers Go Back to School

2008-01-24T20:24:23Z

A recent article in The Jewish Exponent highlights a growing trend among baby boomers. Many are choosing to go back to the communities where they went to college. The communities and universities are welcoming these alum and their families with open arms. With boomers only beginning to retire, there is confidence among experts that college towns will continue to see an increase in university affiliated retirement homes. College towns typically offer good transportation infrastructure, a plethora of athletic and cultural events, and proximity to university healthcare services, making them attractive to seniors looking for a different kind of retirement.

Forbes Examines Boomer Migration Patterns

2008-01-18T16:10:17Z

Work is now a factor in seniors selecting a retirement destination. This marks the first time that the “job factor” has been among criteria that traditionally have included availability of good healthcare services, a pleasant climate, low crime and choices in leisure and cultural activities.

According to a recent study that appeared in the article Best Places for Retirees on Forbes.com, retirees are looking for places that offer a range of part-time employment opportunities. Called working retirement or active retirement, boomers will juggle periods of working and not working.

People living longer and the need to supplement savings and retirement plans are among the reasons for seeking work during their golden years, as well the desire to stay active and pursue work that either interests them or relates to previous careers.

While the job factor is a new attraction, a warm climate remains a key draw, as seen below in the top five retirement destinations according to the Forbes.com article.

1. Tampa, FL

2. Fort Worth, TX

3. Indianapolis, IN

4. Atlanta, GA

5. Houston, TX

Authors Create Buzz with Unorthodox Argument About Brain Aging

2008-01-16T15:41:36Z

Dr. Peter Whitehouse M.D., Ph.D and co-author Daniel George, M.Sc, a graduate student at Oxford University, recently published The Myth of Alzheimers, a book that seeks to change the way people think about brain aging and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other memory impairment conditions.

Senior Housing Industry Riding Wave on Demand for Better Care

2008-01-08T17:32:47Z

Providing quality care has been a key element in an unprecedented wave of growth for the seniors housing industry, according to the 2007 Dealmaker’s Handbook, an annual assessment published by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News in partnership with the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry.

“The tide has never been higher for the seniors housing and care industry,” says writer John Andrews in the Handbook’s article “A Wave Like No Other.” The fourth quarter of 2006 was the best quarter the industry has had since the NIC started tracking indicators in the late ‘90s. Loan volume placed during the first quarter of 2007 was $228 billion, a 172 % increase form the first quarter 2006, at $838 million. Median occupancies for seniors housing in major metropolitan areas are consistently between 94 and 97 %, supply growth is balanced, demand is growing steadily and revenue growth is strong. The publication says that the most commonly cited reason for the industry’s robust financial health is a sharp improvement in resident care by facility operators, noting that some companies founded in the 90’s were “essentially real estate plays, with little or no focus on operations.”

Michael Hargrave is a vice president of NIC Market Area Profiles service.

“The proliferation of the assisted living industry has helped drive the overall growth in the number of private paying residents residing in seniors housing,” Hargrave says. “Today’s assisted living product is more desirable to prospective residents and families compared to older institutional models, and that’s increased penetration of that sector. There’s lots of opportunity, but also a great deal of smart growth going on right now in seniors housing.”

Expect Easier Unionization if Dems Win in 2008

2008-01-04T15:29:47Z

“If and when a Democrat takes the White House, expect to see the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow employees to form unions when a majority signed cards authorizing union representation,” says Kansas City Star workplace reporter Diane Stafford.

While this workplace prediction is just one of many by Stafford for 2008, it probably poses the most concern to operators of seniors housing and the long term care industry. The proposed Employee Free Choice Act, also called “card check,” would make it possible for work places to become unionized if a majority of employees sign union authorization cards, not requiring the secret ballot elections that have been in place for almost sixty years. The proposed act would also have stronger penalties on companies that illegally coerce employees to prevent them from joining a union.

“Since the Taft-Hartley Act of the 1940s, the right to unionize has been under secret ballot election,” says Maribeth Bersani, senior vice president of public policy for the Assisted Living Federation of America. “With this so-called Employee Free Choice Act, formation would come from employees filling out a card. This could easily create an environment where a lot of pressure could be exerted to force someone to join a union.”

Under the proposed act, some employers say they also are concerned that employees will be illegally coerced into forming and joining a union. Pro-union forces have long said that current laws make it easy for employers to illegally coerce employees to prevent them from forming and joining unions.

“We don’t see the issue as company versus union,” Bersani says. “We see this as an employee issue and feel the employee should have the right to the secret ballot.”

To read more of Diane Stafford’s workplace trends and predictions for 2008, visit: http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/419187.html