Inconsistency of Staffing = Poorer Experiences
Our November Newsletter
Here we are just like that into the holiday season. November marks the last newsletter of the year as anything after Thanksgiving will make it to the circular file.
2021 has been an interesting journey. Particularly because the journey was one I had not planned to take. Sage Stream, our Senior Entertainment and Education Network, took on a life of its own this year. Major endorsers, press, a superior vision, a great value proposition - all of this has brought us to the point of being ready to launch fully in 2022. I thank you for your interest and support this past year and the encouragement people have given along the journey.
I am also grateful to our 40+ roster members who have embraced this mission with me and to our two university partners in the journey - UNCC Charlotte Gerontology and Northeastern University. Special thanks to Jasmine, my fall student, who inspires me to do better and always has fresh and new ideas.
I wish you a joyous and peaceful season and a happy new year as well. See you in ‘22.
Nursing Homes Staffing Falls Amid Pandemic
“Even before COVID-19 bared the truth of a profit-driven industry with too few caring for society’s most vulnerable, thin staffing was a hallmark of nursing homes around the country.” Direct quote from this AP article. Worth the read. Lots of factors going into the staffing issue in all industries including a re-evaluation or work and America’s mass resignation.
A record number of workers are quitting their jobs, empowered by new leverage
And that brings us to part two of the staffing dilemma. 4.3 million people quit their jobs in August, nearly 3 percent of the workforce. Remember most pandemic benefits have expired. People have had a lot of time to think. And they are demanding more and better. Some quit for better jobs but as this article points out, not all. People are reconsidering and doing a lot of introspection and that is impacting aging services.
Here Are More Than 200 Studies That Demonstrate the Benefits of Music
This article summarizes and categorizes benefits associated with music education and listening to music in general, according to science. With over 200 studies listed, it’s by far the largest collection of its kind.
Segue into Sage Stream of course after that last article. We continue to chug along. We have 40+ roster members signed to the roster officially. You have probably seen some of our announcements. As I joke, mostly, our roster is above my pay grade. We recently conducted a live-stream on LinkedIn to great reviews. View the session below. The net of where we are is that we are looking for pilot sites, sponsors and grants. We fully expect to be funded and launched in 2022. We also changed our tag line (after the session below!) and our value proposition, which reads:
Sage Stream is a live-streaming platform that provides high quality experts with empathy delivering educational and entertainment programming in hundreds of topics to older adults to relieve isolation and increase social interaction. Partnering with top University Gerontology programs, we offer evidence and practice based programming to help those with dementia. Partnerships with youth and student organizations allows us to develop intergenerational relationships and technology support that enhance the experience and quality of care for older people in all settings.
A grandpa called his budget hotel room the ‘Waldorf Astoria.’ He finally stayed in a real one — in Rome.
When Ezell Holley and his family called their budget hotel ‘the Waldorf Astoria’ after winter storms forced them out of their homes earlier this year, it became an inside joke. Seven months later, it turned into the trip of a lifetime.
After 77 years, Iowa couple gets long overdue wedding photos — with help from hospice workers
The Sept. 16, 1944, wedding at Grace United Methodist Church was quick and simple — Royce King was on a two-day leave before serving overseas. Frankie, his betrothed, wore a tailored suit instead of a gown. A photographer was not there to take snapshots of the loving couple.
Caregiver Smile Summit -
Purchase all three Summits for $49.
Use them as a substitute for your Caregiver Conference just as Rural Resources Community Living Connections in Pullman, Washington did this year. Or give them as a gift to a deserving caregiver.
RAISE Family Caregiving Council Issues Report to Congress
The RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council delivered a report to Congress with 26 recommendations across five goals. In light of some recent developments, I doubt much will change. Shameful that in other countries these are mostly non-issues. But in the U.S. we have a country with the best medical advances and the most horrible, greed-driven, broken healthcare system to deliver it.
Unpaid caregivers spend a quarter of their annual income providing help. A new caregiver tax credit was axed from budget plan
As of the writing of this newsletter, the tax credit was out of the new legislation. There was hope that a new tax credit for caregivers would be part of the budget plan. It would have provided a tax credit of up to $2,000 for eligible caregivers. At one point, the credit was as much as $5,000. But in fierce negotiations to get something through Congress, the credit was cut. It could have offered some relief for the millions of unpaid caregivers in the United States.
In the Media
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO PREPARE ELDERLY LOVED ONES FOR EMERGENCIES, Sixty and Me.
Watch this wonderful interview with the founders of Senior Junction.
Choosing Senior Care? Consider Staffing, US News and World Report
I am eSpeakers certified. What does that mean? Click on the photo to find out more.
The Truth About Caregiving: Your Determination Isn’t Enough
Tracy Grant writes - “But the truth is that I am no less and no more powerful in caring for my mother than I was for my son and my husband. No more or less in control than I ever was. Just more aware of the limitations of being a caregiver — which is to say, the limitations of being human.”
