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Sodexo-Supported Research Explores the LTSS Migrant/Immigrant Workforce

The Global Ageing Network is working with the LeadingAge Center for Applied Research (CFAR)  to explore the role that migrant/immigrant workers can play in delivering long-term services and supports (LTSS) to the world’s growing older population.

Sodexo, a global leader in Quality of Life Services, is funding the research project. Sodexo is a LeadingAge Gold Partner and Global Ageing Network supporter.

CFAR researchers will examine the complex issues facing nations that are experiencing a decline in the availability of native-born workers and caregivers even as the demand for qualified LTSS workers increases dramatically. Many developed nations are turning to migrants and immigrants to meet the increased demand for services and supports, says Natasha Bryant, senior research associate at CFAR and manager of the Sodexo-supported project.

“The use of a migrant and immigrant workforce has broad implications for the recruitment, retention, and working conditions of these workers,” says Bryant. “It also affects the recipients of care, the quality of care they receive, and the workplace environment at provider organizations.”

Scope of the Project

CFAR researchers will conduct a comprehensive environmental scan of the migrant/immigrant nurse and direct care workforce in the United States and across the globe. They will also conduct telephone interviews with representatives of 20 LTSS providers located in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, France, and Australia.

The scan and interviews will be designed to help researchers uncover new information about:

  • Factors shaping the international labor markets and migration of direct care workers and nurses, including national migration policies

  • Personal characteristics and working conditions of migrant/immigrant workers and how they differ from native-born workers

  • Opportunities and challenges associated with integrating migrants/immigrants into the LTSS workforce, including the challenge of building cultural competency

  • Strategies to help providers recruit, retain, and support migrant/immigrant workers

  • The impact of an migrant/immigrant workforce on co-workers and residents, and on quality of care

  • Exemplar programs that have successfully integrated migrant/immigrant workers into their care delivery systems

About Sodexo

Founded in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, Sodexo is a global leader in services that improve Quality of Life, an essential factor in individual and organizational performance. Operating in 80 countries, Sodexo serves 75 million consumers each day through its unique combination of on-site services, benefits and rewards services, and personal and home services.

“Sodexo is pleased to support research that will help senior living providers around the globe to strengthen the senior care workforce so that they can continue  a mission that we all share, delivering high-quality services to older adults well into the future,” says James Perry, global senior manager at Sodexo Seniors Division.

 

Tech News: Gearing up for a Productive 2017

By Majd Alwan, Executive Director, Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST)

The Global Ageing Network and LeadingAge’s Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) are gearing up for a productive year in technology and ageing services. Your experiences, contributions, and case studies are vital to the progress of technology in our field.

CAST has developed a number of useful tools to help providers make informed decisions about investments in technology. In 2017, they will develop a selection tool focused on technoligies to assist with social connectivity and engagement of residents, clients and older adults living in the community. Look for an announcement about the availability of this tool in a future issue of Alliance.

To learn more about available CAST tools and case studies related to ageing services technologies, click here.

Tech News

  • Note the 7 tech trends to watch in senior living for 2017 published in Senior Living by Travis Palmquist of PointClickCare.

  • Learn how be.group, a Global Ageing Network member based in Glendale, CA, is using technology that engages employees and communities to increase staff retention and improve its residents’ experience.

  • Global Ageing Network member, Ohio Living Westminster-Thurber in Columbus, OH, is piloting an app called Cubigo to increase its residents’ comfort level with smart technology. Cubigo is designed to enhance independent living, putting control in the consumer’s hands and lowering costs.

Follow the Global Ageing Network blog’s technology section for more updates about CAST and other technology related initiatives.

Pioneering a New Vision

Dr. Markus Leser writes about an emerging care model in Switzerland, where residential care and community-based providers are forging alliances to better serve an increasingly independent ageing population.

Much like Australia, Switzerland has an ageing population, which will see the number of people requiring aged care increase 45 per cent by 2030.

Improvements in medical care have ensured that older people and those in need of care will enter a care facility increasingly later in life. As well as being older on admission, these seniors will also have a greater need for care. This trend will continue to increase in future, meaning that the level of care delivered by care facilities will rise.

The baby boomer generation will also soon reach old age and ultimately need aged care. In spite of this need, baby boomers will want to continue their independent lifestyle for as long as possible.

Current residents are already demanding more services and choices from a single provider, while they and their families are becoming involved in decision making to a far greater extent than was the case in the past.

People in need of care are no longer necessarily receiving this in hospital-like facilities but can choose between a range of different options: assisted living, residential communities, household communities, residential care in residential care groups and so on.

Assisted residential arrangements are increasingly doing away with the separation between community-based and residential care. As a result, an ever increasing number of providers from the community-based and residential sector will come together to form various alliances.

Read the full article here: http://www.congress.curaviva.ch/frontend/organizers/media/Cur17/AAA_JanFeb2017Spread_11__002_.pdf 

Source: Australia Ageing Agenda.com.au, “Letter from Overseas: Switzerland”

Opinion: Senior friendly communities not just in fairy tales. | Vancouver Sun

Lake Constance is in the heart of Europe bordered by Switzerland and the Alps to the south, Germany to the north and Austria to the east. The region is lined with lakeside retreats, beer-stein-size ferries taking mini-cars and visitors across the lake, fairy book castles, quaint villages with cobblestone pedestrian streets, vineyards and apple orchards. What most tourists who visit the area never see and what most locals take for granted is a groundbreaking community in the town of Eriskirch, Germany, where Haus St. Iris is, an “Altenpflegeheim” (old-persons caring village) operated by Stiftung Liebenau a European Catholic organization.

Once upon a time, seniors were set aside in nursing homes. Wouldn’t that be a story for boomers running the nursing-home industry to write?

Source: Opinion: Senior friendly communities not just in fairy tales. | Vancouver Sun

Become a Trial Partner – Canadian Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation

The Canadian Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation (CC-ABHI) is seeking trial partner sites for its Industry Innovation Partnership Program (i2p2). Participants will have an opportunity to gain early access to new and innovative solutions in the aging and brain health sector for both testing and validation. If your organization is interested in becoming a trial partner, CC-ABHI invites you to submit an Expression of Interest form through its website.  Submission are being accepted now through February 17th. Click here for more info.

Source: Become a Trial Partner – Canadian Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation

 

 

When the Past is Present:  Trauma-Informed Care for Holocaust Survivors

By Stuart Kaplan

On Tuesday, December 6th through Thursday, December 8th of 2016, Selfhelp Community Services Holocaust Survivor Program convened an international conference in honor of its 80th anniversary.  “When the Past is Present: Trauma-Informed Care for Holocaust Survivors”, was attended by over 300 social workers, and other professionals who work with survivors, from throughout the United States, Germany, Austria, Canada and other countries.  The conference was planned in collaboration with UJA-Federation of New York, the Claims Conference and Jewish Federations of North America.

Selfhelp’s Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Kaplan, opened the conference on Tuesday evening with additional remarks from Alex Roth-Kahn, Managing Director of UJA-Federation’s Caring Commission. The evening featured an in-depth presentation hightlighting the impact of Selfhelp’s Witness Theater, a therapeutic program for holocausts survivors to work in collaboration with high school students to share their stories through performance.

Wednesday’s program was opened by Hanan Simhon, Vice President of Holocaust Survivor Services at Selfhelp and included remarks from Eric Goldstein, UJA-Federation of New York’s Chief Executive Officer followed by a day of learning with keynote speaker, Dr. Gary Kennedy, from Montefiore Medical Center, who presented “When Does Respect for Autonomy Become Abandonment?”

That morning also featured a plenary session with Gregory Schneider, Executive Vice President for the Claims Conference and six concurrent sessions in the afternoon, with topics rangingspiritual care, creative therapies and end of life care for Holocaust survivors to the preservation of memory and history, providing care for multi-generational legacies of trauma, and guardianship.

Thursday opened with Selfhelp’s Board Member, Staci Barber who gave brief remarks, followed by a welcome from William Daroff, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at the Jewish Federations of North America.

The morning program featured a diverse panel of Holocaust survivors who spoke about their experiences and how they coped during the war and throughout their lives.  The session and discussion was led by Carmen Morano, a professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. Eleven concurrent session were offered throughout the day with a variety of relevant session topics on working with Holocaust survivors.

The international gathering allowed participants to connect and exchange ideas and effective care models with others who serve Holocaust survivors.

“Thank you so much for the privilege of attending the Selfhelp conference in NYC last week! We all learned so much and are further energized to move forward with advancing care for Holocaust survivors,” shared one attendee.

If you would like to learn more about the conference or are serving holocaust survivors in your ocmmunity and would like to connect to the Selfhelp Community network, please let us know.  Selfhelp Community Services would be delighted to connect with you!

Selfhelp Community Services, is the largest provider of comprehensive services to Holocaust survivors in North America. Stuart Kaplan, CEO is on the Global Ageing Network Board of Directors.

UN Hosts 7th Working Session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing

The Global Ageing Network was well-represented at the Seventh Working Session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing at the United Nations in December. Board Chair Marcus Riley joined the Network’s UN liaisons, Bill Smith and Katie Weiss, along with Executive Director Katie Smith Sloan for the meetings.

The Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWG) was established by the General Assembly by resolution 65/182 on 21 December 2010. Its purpose is to consider the existing international frameworks that address the human rights of older persons and identify gaps and how best to address them, including by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further instruments and measures.

The Global Ageing Network has advocated for a Convention addressing the human rights of the elderly for a number of years. At this meeting, human rights advocates joined ageing advocates in their belief that existing conventions do not adequately address the needs of older persons. The enthusiasm for a Convention among the NGO’s was unanimous. There was, and has been, less unanimity among nation states.

Marcus Riley made several convincing statements before the assembled body on behalf of the Global Ageing Network, arguing that “changing attitudes takes time and a movement. [The Global Aging Network] is committed to being part of that movement. It needs to be coupled with a clear conceptual, legal and accountability framework to assist governments, the private sector and NGO’s in making decisions that positively address population ageing, eliminate age discrimination and better protect older women and men’s rights. The time has come for an international convention on the rights of older people.”

While the mechanism is very much under discussion, there is widespread agreement that we need to protect the human rights of the elderly. As noted by one delegate, “too many elderly are invisible and living in unacceptable conditions. We need to work to protect the dignity of older people whose numbers will grow in the future.”

Read The Global Ageing Network’s full statement to the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing here.

The Global Aging Network Sponsors the Fifth GSA Global Aging Forum: An International Lens on Aging

By Taryn Patterson

The 2016 Global Aging Forum: An International Lens on Aging convened in New Orleans as part of the Gerontological Society of America’s annual meeting in November 2016. The Global Aging Network co-sponsored the forum, which was focused on gerontological research and education efforts outside the U.S., with the objectives of highlighting similarities and differences among countries in the aging experience, policy and practice, increasing awareness of opportunities for global ageing research, and facilitating future collaborations. Presenters from a variety of disciplines described research, practice, and policy efforts ranging from Mexico, Russia, and the United Kingdom, to Nepal, Japan, and the Philippines.  Additionally, attendees learned about corporate initiatives related to global ageing and about the RAND harmonized database of the international family of health and retirement studies that is available for cross-country analysis.

Subsequent roundtable discussions are always the most fruitful aspect of this lively forum, during which time attendees discussed the common themes that emerged from the talks. Observations included the importance of participatory and ethnographic methodology to capture the voice of older adults in research, the need for ageing experts to play an active role on the policy stage, and the need for better metrics and ageing data at the global level.

We look forward to continuing this global ageing conversation at the the 21st World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG)—taking place in San Francisco, California on July 23-27, 2017. See you there!

We Are the Global Ageing Network!

In September 2016, the IAHSA Board of Directors unanimously voted to change our name to the Global Ageing Network!

Our new name reflects the changing nature of our network and our growth around the world. Our focus on the quality of life of people as they age expands beyond homes and services. It embraces technology, workforce, leadership, culture, ageism, health and wellness, inclusion and so many other facets of an ageing society.

As we grow in depth and breadth, the Global Ageing Network is committed to making a contribution to these and more issues that will make our world a better place to grow old.

Here are a just few thoughts about our name from members of our leadership–

“Global connectedness can change our world…we call it friendship”–Viv Allanson, CEO of Maroba & Global Ageing Network Board Member (Newcastle, NSW Australia)

“The diversity of approaches, services, cultural influences and resources adds to the richness of our global ageing network. It affords a tremendous opportunity to expand our relationships, thinking and learnings from one another.”— Stuart Kaplan, CEO of Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. & Global Ageing Network Board Member (New York, NY USA)

“…[‘Global Ageing Network’] reflects the willingness and necessity for global connections and collaboration around the ageing agenda.”–Femada Shamam, The Association for the Aged (TAFTA) & Global Ageing Network Board Member (Durban, South Africa)

Or read this reflection offered by Stuart Kaplan about the Global Ageing Network and why he believes it most accurately embodies the mission and vision of our organization!

The Global Ageing Network: A Reflection by Stuart Kaplan

By Stuart C. Kaplan

IAHSA has recently changed its name to the Global Ageing Network.

These three words succinctly and impactfully represent IAHSA’s Mission & Vision—

Global – international reach in 60 countries

Ageing—indeed, the population whom we serve

And Network—I’d like to spend a bit of time on…

Throughout history, social change has been possible only through the contributions and dedication of many people and organizations connected in tight and loose groups. Developments such as widespread access to immunizations in poor countries or civil rights movements or, in the United States, the emergency response system by dialing 911, have happened through leadership of citizens and groups of all kinds that have linked actions through constellations of relations—networks, if you will, of informal and formal relationships.

  • Networks are a collection of people/organizations and the relationships between them.

  • In developing networks…building relationships among organizations is the most direct path to achieving greater scale of impact.

  • Essentially, networks are all about relationships—“whom you talk to and whom they talk to.”

  • A strong network has both tight relationships (your close colleague) and loose relationships (that person you met at a conference, say, in Perth, Lyon, or soon, Montreux).

To strengthen a network we need to:

  • Create an infrastructure for wide spread engagement and coordinating resources, knowledge and actions to grow exponentially—the Global Ageing Network has done this!

  • Understand and align priorities—use members of the network as a sounding board to help establish priorities—the Global Ageing Network has done this!

  • Learn from our peers—hear how others approach challenges we each are facing –the Global Ageing Network has done this!

  • Networks flourish when new people on the edge are engaged to bring in fresh ideas and energy. This is our ongoing objective and wonderful challenge…and…the Global Ageing Network is doing it!

And finally, trusted and lasting relationships encourage communal exchange over time. With each call, each meeting, indeed each exchange we have, we are building ever strong, the Global Ageing Network.

About the Writer

Stuart C. Kaplan is the CEO of Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. in New York, NY USA. A forward thinking executive with extensive experience in health care administration, Stuart  provides strategic, analytical, and operational stewardship for social service, health care, long term care and managed care organizations. Under his leadership, Selfhelp Community Services, Inc., a leading provider health and human services, home care and affordable housing for ageing New Yorkers, has strengthened its financial position, improved program efficiency and preserved its compassionate delivery of care. Stuart joined the Global Ageing Network Board of Directors in 2015.