<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>covid Archives - Star Bradbury</title> <atom:link href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/tag/covid/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/tag/covid/</link> <description>Star Bradbury</description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 02 Aug 2022 14:38:07 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2</generator> <item> <title>What is the solution to the critical shortage of health-care workers?</title> <link>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/what-is-the-solution-to-the-critical-shortage-of-health-care-workers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-is-the-solution-to-the-critical-shortage-of-health-care-workers</link> <comments>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/what-is-the-solution-to-the-critical-shortage-of-health-care-workers/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[sbadmin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Sep 2021 18:56:37 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[caregivers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[covid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[healthcare worker shortage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[longterm care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Senior Living Strategies Consulting]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/?p=1454</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>You’ve seen the headlines: “Hospitals Face a Shortage of Nurses as COVID Cases Soar.” “Rural Hospitals Can’t Find the Nurses They Need to Fight COVID.” “A Crisis Situation as Military Medical Teams Deploy to Staff Hospitals.” What you may not have known is that before...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/what-is-the-solution-to-the-critical-shortage-of-health-care-workers/">What is the solution to the critical shortage of health-care workers?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You’ve seen the headlines:</p> <p>“Hospitals Face a Shortage of Nurses as COVID Cases Soar.”</p> <p>“Rural Hospitals Can’t Find the Nurses They Need to Fight COVID.”</p> <p>“A Crisis Situation as Military Medical Teams Deploy to Staff Hospitals.”</p> <p>What you may not have known is that before COVID, we were facing a global shortage of health-care workers. A World Health Organization survey estimated that before COVID, we nWHO also estimates that in order to provide vaccinations globally, we need an additional 1.1 million health workers. Competition for health-care workers is already fierce, be it national or global.</p> <p>Now with COVID, the essential delivery of health-care services across the board has been disrupted. Every business in the United States providing care of any kind is suffering; hospitals, home care agencies, and senior living such as assisted and skilled care.</p> <p>This is a serious problem that is not going to go away. COVID has traumatized and exhausted our health-care workers and they are quitting, retiring or resigning in droves. Can you blame them?</p> <p>We are heading for the perfect storm. According to the most recent data from Genworth, 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 every day through 2030. Seven out of ten will require long-term care. Who is going to provide that care?</p> <p>Already there are over 41.8 million caregivers providing care for an adult over 50, according to the latest AARP data. They are mostly family caregivers, trying to manage work, children and caring for aging parents, and they are stressed out.</p> <p>I am looking at the future of health care and elder care and I am afraid. The system we currently have in place is broken for many reasons, and COVID is only one of them. Unless we make some major changes in how we provide and pay for care, and how we both educate and treat our health-care workers and family caregivers, we are doomed. Bold approaches are needed that address these issues in a variety of ways.</p> <p>To start, we need to pay higher wages for most health-care workers. If you want a home health aide or certified nursing assistant to take a job, pay $20 an hour and offer decent benefits and a future career. Help them get a full nursing degree for a longer work commitment.</p> <p>Quality long-term care needs to be more affordable, and not just for the wealthy. I would like to see a total revamping of our long-term care system, with some kind of universal long-term care, including help with “aging in place,” or community-based care. Impoverishing yourself or moving assets around to qualify for Medicaid should not be the only option.</p> <p>We need to rethink our concepts on institutional long-term care and redesign skilled nursing to be safer, smaller and more resilient to pandemics. State agencies need to do more than police these facilities every few years.</p> <p>We need to address the needs of those millions of caregivers providing unpaid care to their elderly parents. The American Rescue Plan originally included over $400 billion for “human infrastructure” some of which would help caregivers, but it was dropped in the final bill.</p> <p>At least we should offer a tax break for an “adult dependent” to lessen the burden financially. Employers should consider an “elder care benefit,” that offers flex time, helps employees coordinate care and ideally, helps pay for care. A few forward-looking companies are already doing this.</p> <p>We need to revise our immigration policies. Why not actively encourage those with any kind of health-care background to move to the United States and streamline the visa process? If they want a new career in health care, let’s offer free education if they qualify. Colleges and universities can partner with the senior living industry to fund courses for home health aides, nursing degrees and more.</p> <p>If we don’t address these issues now, we will all pay for it in the toll it takes on our families, our health-care workers, our caregivers, our elders and, yes, our economy! As Rosalynn Carter so beautifully said, “There are only four kinds of people in the world: Those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.”</p> <p>No matter what, we will all be affected.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/what-is-the-solution-to-the-critical-shortage-of-health-care-workers/">What is the solution to the critical shortage of health-care workers?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/what-is-the-solution-to-the-critical-shortage-of-health-care-workers/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Should vaccines be mandatory for long-term health care workers?</title> <link>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/should-vaccines-be-mandatory-for-long-term-health-care-workers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=should-vaccines-be-mandatory-for-long-term-health-care-workers</link> <comments>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/should-vaccines-be-mandatory-for-long-term-health-care-workers/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[sbadmin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2021 02:35:04 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[covid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[covid vaccine]]></category> <category><![CDATA[mandatory vaccines]]></category> <category><![CDATA[senior care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Senior Living Strategies Consulting]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/?p=1470</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The news has been full of alarming statistics about the high percentage of long-term care workers refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. Given the more than 100,000 COVID deaths nationwide of long-term care residents, the implications are obvious. How are we ever going to get COVID under...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/should-vaccines-be-mandatory-for-long-term-health-care-workers/">Should vaccines be mandatory for long-term health care workers?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The news has been full of alarming statistics about the high percentage of long-term care workers refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. Given the more than 100,000 COVID deaths nationwide of long-term care residents, the implications are obvious.</p> <p>How are we ever going to get COVID under control if a large percentage of hands-on caregivers in long-term care refuse to get vaccinated? Does the long-term care industry have legal and ethical responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for both staff and patients?</p> <p>I spoke with Nick Van Der Linden, director of communications for Florida Leading Age, and he reports that about 40% to 50% of long-term care staff in Florida are “vaccine hesitant.” Leading Age of Florida represents over 500 assisted living and skilled care facilities, life care communities, home care and more, so the vaccine reluctance is across the entire spectrum of senior living. When queried if they were going to make the vaccine mandatory for staff, 98% of their members replied no.</p> <p>It is widely accepted that vaccinating as many staff as possible is the goal, so why aren’t mandatory vaccines a no-brainer? At what point might these measures backfire when staff shortages are rampant? Should an excellent worker lose employment for refusing the vaccine? A facility cannot maintain quality of care without staff.</p> <p>Legal ramifications for terminating an employee would make most businesses nervous. Where does safety end, and employee rights begin? The Food and Drug Administration authorized both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for emergency use authorization but they cannot protect facilities from employee lawsuits.</p> <p>According to the JD Supra legal website, “Long-term care facilities can require facility employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment … However, the rule is not absolute, and there are important exceptions such as some physical disabilities and sincere religious objections.” Would you like to figure out these rules?</p> <p>The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states, “[a] conclusion that there is a direct threat would include a determination that an unvaccinated individual will expose others to the virus at the worksite.” An employee is entitled to reasonable accommodations up to a point, but that is not entirely feasible with front-line workers in long-term care facilities.</p> <p>“If the employer cannot reduce the threat,” the commission says, “it can prevent the employee from physically entering the workplace, but that does not mean that the employer can automatically terminate the employee.”</p> <p>Few large companies have taken the plunge. Atria Senior Living, a company with more than 185 locations in 26 states and 11,000 employees, has made taking the vaccine a “condition of employment.” CEO John A. Moore called the company’s decision “the responsible thing to do in light of the threat posed by COVID-19.”</p> <p>One caveat? Employees have to May 1 to comply, likely with the hope of giving staff time to come around.</p> <p>Many senior living corporations have mounted major marketing campaigns to motivate and educate employees with catchy phrases and vaccine parties. Providers are offering $100 to $200 cash bonuses, gift cards and raffle prizes for those who complete the two-shot process. But as Van Der Linden pointed out, most companies understand that to make serious progress they will need to create a culture of vaccine acceptance.</p> <p>One facility that has had remarkable success is River Gardens in Jacksonville. About 70% to 75% of their 325-plus staff and 97% of residents have been vaccinated, according to Bobbie Jo Mentz, associate administrator. Gov. Ron DeSantis made an appearance there Jan. 25 to mark the accomplishment.</p> <p>How did they do it? Staff and family education began as soon as they learned of vaccine release plans back in November. Numerous easy-to-attend town halls were held, in person and virtually. Peer-to-peer discussions were encouraged.</p> <p>As Mentz said, “We are all family here. We care about everyone’s health and safety.” They listened; they cared. This is an example of attempting to balance the rights of both patients and staff.</p> <p>The results speak for themselves.</p> <p>Success will likely not come from making vaccines mandatory, even though it seems sensible on the surface. According to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation survey, “over half (52%) of long-term care workers are people of color … of which roughly 15.5 million are estimated to have direct patient contact.” Let’s not forget that they died, too.</p> <p>Terminating workers who are afraid to get the vaccine would be adding insult to injury. While we know the clock is ticking, I feel that education and patience will pay off. Time will tell and our front-line workers deserve it.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/should-vaccines-be-mandatory-for-long-term-health-care-workers/">Should vaccines be mandatory for long-term health care workers?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/should-vaccines-be-mandatory-for-long-term-health-care-workers/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Failing Our Elders: Florida Ranks Last In National Survey</title> <link>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/failing-our-elders-florida-ranks-last-in-national-survey/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=failing-our-elders-florida-ranks-last-in-national-survey</link> <comments>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/failing-our-elders-florida-ranks-last-in-national-survey/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[sbadmin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2021 00:32:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[covid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[legislation for long term care facilities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[senior care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Senior Living Strategies Consulting]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/?p=1408</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Florida ranks last in the latest national scorecard evaluating long-term services, compiled by AARP. There are 50 other states (D.C. is included) ranked higher than we are, even though we are home to the largest population of seniors in the entire country. Stating I am...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/failing-our-elders-florida-ranks-last-in-national-survey/">Failing Our Elders: Florida Ranks Last In National Survey</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Florida ranks last in the latest national scorecard evaluating long-term services, compiled by AARP. There are 50 other states (D.C. is included) ranked higher than we are, even though we are home to the largest population of seniors in the entire country.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Stating I am embarrassed hardly captures what all of us should be feeling. Please don’t say you are surprised. COVID has had the effect of shining a light on Florida’s issues, but many of the root causes for our abysmal ranking existed long before this pandemic.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">If there is a silver lining, perhaps it will be in how our state and federal governments react to the pandemic. But they cannot fix this problem alone. Industry leaders need to step up and actually put into place many of the initiatives they have talked about for years.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Now they have to. Why? It is hurting their profits. According to an industry trade newsletter, McKnight’s Senior Living, the senior housing sector “is experiencing its largest drop in occupancy on record.” They are well aware that families are reluctant to move a loved one into any senior living community during COVID, so they are committed to doing what it takes to instill confidence in the public again.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Many industry leaders have expressed their sorrow and genuine heartbreak for all the deaths, family pain and suffering brought about by COVID. Scott Tittle, executive director of the National Center for Assisted Living, told McKnight’s Senior Living, “Not only has it been traumatic to lose so many residents and colleagues, it has been exhausting — physically and emotionally — battling this virus day in and day out.”</p> <aside id="gnt_atomsnc" class="gnt_em gnt_em_anc" data-g-r="lazy" data-gl-method="loadAnc" aria-label="Newsletter signup form"></aside> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">But as they say, follow the money. Argentum, a leading national trade association, and other industry leaders are already hiring more PR firms and extra lobbyists to deal with what leaders perceive as bad press and the coming wave of legislation.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">“I have no doubt the industry will begin to see legislation introduced to try to further regulate senior living at both the federal and state levels, so we’ll need to have our antennas up to anticipate this well before it happens,” said James Balda, president and CEO for Argentum. It is well known the senior living industry is hoping to be shielded from liability for COVID claims nationally.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">But let’s stay optimistic. We now have three crucial groups motivated to finally make a difference: politicians, industry leaders and advocacy groups. For once, everyone agrees we must take action.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Forty percent of all COVID deaths nationally have been in senior living facilities. The industry acknowledges they need to improve, and they are doing it for the sake of their residents, staff and, to be honest, profits.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">We need a strong healthy senior living industry to provide care and housing for the millions of seniors and their families who need it, and they can’t do it alone. But if you are going to give the industry some financial relief (and, yes, their costs have skyrocketed during COVID), make sure it comes with real accountability, requiring improvements in caregiving and staffing ratios.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Politicians know they have to get more involved, especially in Florida. Without legislation requiring long-term care facilities to buy generators after Hurricane Irma, do you think facilities would have? No.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Legislation must come into play, requiring more oversight and real protection for seniors. If you want seniors’ votes, then pay attention.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Many advocacy groups have found a powerful voice. They proved they could turn the tide at the state level when they forced a change to the visitation rules in long-term care communities so desperate families could visit their isolated (and dying) loved ones. Let’s give them the support they need, personally and at the state and federal levels.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Additionally, until we raise salaries for front-line long-term care “heroes,” we will continue to have problems. Pay them a living wage of $15 to $20 an hour. Many have to work multiple jobs, and this contributed greatly to the spread of COVID.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Offer better career paths with access to more education. Partner with local colleges and universities to create new programs, subsidized for our “heroes.”</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">If we want to be prepared for the next disaster, now is the time. We all need to work together to ensure a better future for our seniors.</p> <p class="gnt_ar_b_p">They are our mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, friends and colleagues, our wisdom keepers. They deserve more from their government, the industry and us.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/failing-our-elders-florida-ranks-last-in-national-survey/">Failing Our Elders: Florida Ranks Last In National Survey</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/failing-our-elders-florida-ranks-last-in-national-survey/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Ombudsman Program Works to Keep Seniors Safe</title> <link>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/ombudsman-program-works-to-keep-seniors-safe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ombudsman-program-works-to-keep-seniors-safe</link> <comments>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/ombudsman-program-works-to-keep-seniors-safe/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[sbadmin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2020 01:05:13 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[covid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Families for Better Care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program]]></category> <category><![CDATA[long-term care facilities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[senior care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Senior Living Strategies Consulting]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/?p=1478</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>With all the bad news about COVID-19 and long-term care facilities, I wanted to write about an organization that deserves more positive attention. Founded in 1975 as a result of the Older Americans Act and under the umbrella of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs,...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/ombudsman-program-works-to-keep-seniors-safe/">Ombudsman Program Works to Keep Seniors Safe</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With all the bad news about COVID-19 and long-term care facilities, I wanted to write about an organization that deserves more positive attention.</p> <p>Founded in 1975 as a result of the Older Americans Act and under the umbrella of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, the mission of the Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is “to improve the quality of life for all Florida long-term care residents by advocating for and protecting their health, safety, welfare and rights.”<br /> It is a statewide volunteer-based program with a goal to “resolve complaints made by, or on behalf of, residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult family care homes and continuing care retirement communities.”<br /> Lately the program has had its share of challenges. Michael Phillips, who just became the new director of the state program Aug. 3, recognizes the task ahead.</p> <p>With the recent announcement by Gov. Ron DeSantis that long-term care facilities will open to visitors for the first time since March 15, he knows what’s coming. With his 14 years of experience as the regional manager for an area that stretched from Jacksonville to Pensacola, he is prepared.<br /> For more than five months, COVID has required the program’s volunteers and staff to suspend in-person visits to facilities. According to Phillips, they have investigated more than 1,300 complaints since the start of COVID and have monitored residents during the pandemic as best they can. But no amount of phone calls, emails or Zooming “can replace your eyes, ears and nose,” Phillips said.</p> <p>The pressure to find balance between the need to protect patients and allow desperate family members to see their loved ones has been tremendous. According to Phillips, “We are facing a sub-pandemic of isolation and depression that has taken a deadly toll on residents of long-term care facilities.”<br /> He has heard firsthand the stories of patients dying of loneliness, not always able to understand why their family stopped visiting. He feels, and I agree, that allowing limited, scheduled and cautious visits is absolutely imperative.</p> <p>As I listened to some of the live-streamed discussions on the task force on this issue, there was heated debate that is still continuing. Groups representing patient safety are worried, “No one needs to die unnecessarily because a premature visitation policy failed to have the right kind of testing in place,” was a concern voiced by Brian Lee, executive director of Families for Better Care.<br /> But Mary Daniels, who came to fame as the wife so desperate to see her husband she took a job as a dishwasher in his facility (and also on the task force), argued that the visitation ban was more harmful than effective, since residents are dying of depression and loneliness. In fact, Daniels predicts that other states will follow Florida’s decision to consider emotional support provided by “essential caregivers” as critical to the well-being of long-term care residents.</p> <p>Despite the cry for mandatory testing, the new guidelines allow facilities to determine if they will ask visitors to take COVID-19 tests. However, Phillips pointed out that the best protection, in his opinion, is the proper use of personal protective equipment and excellent infection control procedures. “You can test clear one day, and two days later be positive,” he said. The state plans to review the guidelines as needed in 30, 60 and 90 days.<br /> Effective immediately, “essential and compassionate caregivers” who help residents with activities of daily living are being allowed access to resident’s rooms and won’t have to follow the strict social distancing requirements. According to Daniels, “the first hug … will take away the pain we have all been suffering for these past 175 days.” For now, general visitors will be required to socially distance and must be 18 years and older.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/ombudsman-program-works-to-keep-seniors-safe/">Ombudsman Program Works to Keep Seniors Safe</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/ombudsman-program-works-to-keep-seniors-safe/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>How do we pay back our underpaid heroes?</title> <link>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/how-do-we-pay-back-our-underpaid-heroes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-do-we-pay-back-our-underpaid-heroes</link> <comments>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/how-do-we-pay-back-our-underpaid-heroes/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[sbadmin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2020 03:04:30 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[covid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Living Wage Certification Project of Alachua County]]></category> <category><![CDATA[senior care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Senior Living Strategies Consulting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[underpaid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[unsung essential heroes]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/?p=1474</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The headlines are full of our thanks and praise for the unsung essential heroes among us: the truck drivers, the cashiers, the grocery store clerks, the home health aides. The list is long: the cafeteria workers, cooks, the food delivery personnel, the janitors. As Time...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/how-do-we-pay-back-our-underpaid-heroes/">How do we pay back our underpaid heroes?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="gntarbp">The headlines are full of our thanks and praise for the unsung essential heroes among us: the truck drivers, the cashiers, the grocery store clerks, the home health aides. The list is long: the cafeteria workers, cooks, the food delivery personnel, the janitors.</p> <p class="gntarbp">As Time magazine put it recently, “Across the world, essential workers are risking their own lives to save ours.” Time and again, we are hearing their stories of coming to work in spite of the risks to themselves, their families, their partners, their parents. Special praise for the doctors and nurses who should get some kind of combat pay, but my focus is on the underpaid.</p> <aside class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__mbl gnt_x__mb" aria-label="advertisement"></aside> <p class="gntarbp">Perhaps for the first time, our culture is recognizing that without these dedicated workers, our system would simply collapse. We are now dependent on them for our pharmaceutical deliveries, our Publix shelves getting restocked, our take-out orders being prepared in our favorite restaurants, the local fish market bringing my salmon to the curb.</p> <aside class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__mbl gnt_x__mb" aria-label="advertisement"></aside> <p class="gntarbp">Does this mean we are now “woke” or newly enlightened to the value these underpaid workers bring us? I hope I can respectfully borrow this term from the black community and the Black Lives Matter movement. I feel the whole issue is intertwined racially and culturally, because almost every job I mentioned is vastly underpaid. Jobs not worth valuing, inherently not worth paying a living wage.</p> <aside id="gnt_atomsnc" class="gnt_em gnt_em_anc" data-g-r="lazy" data-gl-method="loadAnc" aria-label="Newsletter signup form"></aside> <p class="gntarbp">For years I was in awe of the certified nursing assistants that I saw working every day to make a difference in the lives of the residents in the assisted living facility where I worked. Most often they were cheerful, loving and quick with a smile, and many felt called to be a caregiver. They genuinely loved on their patients; you could see it and feel it was genuine. Yes, workers of color — every color. But all were underpaid.</p> <aside class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__mbl gnt_x__mb" aria-label="advertisement"></aside> <p class="gntarbp">If “woke” means to “emerge from a state of sleep or to become aware of,” then my hope is that we can do more than applaud or hold up signs to show our appreciation. Wikipedia defines a living wage “as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs.”</p> <p class="gntarbp">Needs are defined as food, housing and clothing. The goal of a living wage is to allow a worker to afford a basic but decent standard of living through employment without government subsidies. Lack of affordable housing in Gainesville adds to the bigger problem.</p> <aside class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__mbl gnt_x__mb" aria-label="advertisement"></aside> <p class="gntarbp">There has been a national movement long before COVID-19 to pay our essential workers a living wage. An hourly wage increase to $13.75 from $13.25 for city employees was the third phase of the city’s plan to eventually raise their minimum wage to $15, according to the current city budget.</p> <p class="gntarbp">City Commissioner David Arreola stated that he hopes the living wage ordinance will set an example for Gainesville businesses to raise their employees’ salaries. I hope so, because there is a need for improvement.</p> <aside class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__mbl gnt_x__mb" aria-label="advertisement"></aside> <p class="gntarbp">The minimum wage in Florida is $8.56 an hour. Looking up salaries for local drivers, the average pay is $8.67 an hour. Cashiers make about $8.40 an hour. Fast-food workers make on average $9.35 an hour. Nursing assistants and home health aides range from $9.50 to $14.00</p> <p class="gntarbp">I checked out the website for the Living Wage Certification Project of Alachua County. It said, “In 2019, two working parents in Alachua County with two children must make at least $15.19 per hour” each to pay for health care, food, transportation, child care, taxes and housing.</p> <aside class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__mbl gnt_x__mb" aria-label="advertisement"></aside> <p class="gntarbp">As someone born in New York City, I have always valued the expression, “Put your money where your mouth Is!” Defined as “to improve a bad situation instead of just talking about it,” then let’s awake to what we can do.</p> <p class="gntarbp">Let’s not use the COVID-19 crisis to lose sight of these goals. This is a time for our country to look honestly at its core values as we eventually rebuild our economy.</p> <aside class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__mbl gnt_x__mb" aria-label="advertisement"></aside> <p class="gntarbp">This virus has shown us some ugly truths that were always there but are now impossible to ignore. How can we make significant changes to the glaring inequalities in pay, health-care delivery, class, racial injustice? If we do, then history will show that something good came out of this terrible virus.</p> <p class="gntarbp">Start with giving your time, your money and your vote to leaders at the local and national level who share these core values and will stand up for our underpaid essential heroes.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/how-do-we-pay-back-our-underpaid-heroes/">How do we pay back our underpaid heroes?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/how-do-we-pay-back-our-underpaid-heroes/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Behave in a Way that Protects Yourself and Others</title> <link>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/behave-in-a-way-that-protects-yourself-and-others/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=behave-in-a-way-that-protects-yourself-and-others</link> <comments>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/behave-in-a-way-that-protects-yourself-and-others/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[sbadmin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2020 01:15:38 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[covid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[self-imposed quarantine]]></category> <category><![CDATA[senior care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Senior Living Strategies Consulting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[virus]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/?p=1482</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>As my husband and I sit in our home in self-imposed quarantine, I cannot help but wonder what some people are thinking as the death tolls mount and numbers escalate in the United States. I did not have to go far to see the denial...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/behave-in-a-way-that-protects-yourself-and-others/">Behave in a Way that Protects Yourself and Others</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As my husband and I sit in our home in self-imposed quarantine, I cannot help but wonder what some people are thinking as the death tolls mount and numbers escalate in the United States.</p> <p>I did not have to go far to see the denial in my own neighborhood.</p> <p>On a walk recently, I saw a friend of mine, age vulnerable, tried to ward off a millennial neighbor who ignored him and proceeded to give him a big hug while dismissing his attempts to remain at a safe distance!<br /> I have heard stories from other neighbors of a couple laughing off a request to step back from a family and keep a six-foot distance during a “safe” neighborhood ice cream social with kids. Friends in their 70s were still going to the gym until the shutdown.</p> <p>What are people thinking? Unless you are choosing to stay uninformed, we all should know what the headlines and death rates are telling us. Will it take your spouse or partner dying, your neighbor dying or your grandmother dying for this to be real?</p> <p>Assume that you are positive and infecting others and everyone else is. We should not need a shelter-in-place order to enforce this kind of behavior.<br /> We all should be cheering the leadership of Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe and Alachua County Commissioner Robert Hutchinson for making the right decision to issue their shutdown order for Alachua County. We will look back on this and realize, hopefully, that their decision kept our numbers from exploding.</p> <p>Clearly, we cannot follow the example of our national politicians like Sen. Rand Paul or even our own governor, Ron DeSantis, who just doesn’t think that now is the time to place restrictions on businesses in the great state of Florida.</p> <p>As for leadership at the top, the federal government and our president will go down in history as costing thousands if not millions of lives as they twiddled their thumbs while Rome burned. “Too little, too late” is how the history books will record this.</p> <p>Clearly, though, our own state of Florida is not paying attention. Here is a recent headline: “Beach goers thronging to Florida hot spots for spring break.” It took until March 20 for Panama City Beach officials to reluctantly shut beaches down.</p> <p>Locally, swimmers have been in big crowds at Ginnie Springs. What about the University of Florida College of Dentistry advising an infected student to keep the results quiet after he knew he had exposed faculty, patients and other students to the virus?</p> <p>Ask yourself what it means to behave in a way that protects yourself and others.</p> <p>Did you call your parents to watch “the grandchildren”? Then you don’t get it. The journal Pediatrics states that 13% of children with confirmed cases of COVID-19 did not show symptoms.<br /> According to Sean Morrison, a geriatrician with Mount Sinai Health System in New York, “We’re recommending that older adults avoid contact with children … . We want to minimize the risk of that child passing on the disease.”<br /> Imagine trying to explain to your own child how their grandparent died. It is not worth it, so don’t ask them.<br /> Please, don’t stop by in person to check on your elderly family and neighbors. Call them first and ask if they need anything. Don’t expect to be invited into their home. Drop things off on the doorstep and try to be extremely careful. Remind them to try and use gloves when accepting care packages, groceries, takeout. The virus can live for days on many materials.</p> <p>You can still call your elderly friends and family and make a point of staying in touch by phone. If they are tech savvy you can use Skype, Zoom or FaceTime. If not, now is the perfect time to teach them.<br /> This will not last forever. We can and will get through this if we work together.</p> <p>This virus is reminding us of our connectedness all over the planet. It does not care if you are Chinese or American, Republican or Democrat. The common denominator is being human.</p> <p>We all want to be able to say, “I lived through the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.” We have a better chance of surviving if we follow the medical guidelines now, while we slow the spread of the virus.<br /> Please take them seriously and look out for each other, especially our elders. To do otherwise at this time is more than irresponsible, it is bordering on criminal. Besides, it could be your life you are saving!</p> <p>The post <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/behave-in-a-way-that-protects-yourself-and-others/">Behave in a Way that Protects Yourself and Others</a> appeared first on <a href="https://starbradbury.com/Dev1">Star Bradbury</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://starbradbury.com/Dev1/behave-in-a-way-that-protects-yourself-and-others/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>