Solutions in Light of Public Policy

Turnover rates for long term elder care living facilities are critically high for both staff and residents. Financial performance is directly tied to the satisfaction of both the resident population and the staff. Currently, there is no adequate staff training curricula or standards that could affect the nationally high frequency of staff turnover and poor job performance. We believe that traditional approaches to the current elder care crisis are misdirected. The current business model is a reactive effort--that is, it responds to the needs for frequent and constant problem solving resulting from the panic of high staff turnover rates, frequent tort actions and the concomitant rise in residential vacancies. This circumstance results in a negative market image, low sales volume, and chaotic, reactionary decisions that ultimately lead to unmanageable staff stress, dissatisfaction and burnout.

Discovery of a solution needs to emphasizes a new, comprehensive and proactive business model that assures financial success by addressing solutions to both the overall business design and the staffing. Most important, a staff developed with quality training can bring a high level commitment and desire to guarantee long term comfort and realistic solutions to the problems of aging.

Elder care curriculum training will enable workers to meet the broad range, ever increasing needs of physically and mentally challenged elders. Traditionally, care staff behavior patterns stemming from low pay, job dissatisfaction, misinformation and low technical skills have often resulted in inaccurate decisions that endanger the welfare of elder residents. This circumstance, of course, affects the negative financial outcome of the entire long-term care business model. Our project proposes the development of a new LTC corporate model that will lower companies' expenditures, while raising worker productivity. This will encourage a reduction in absenteeism, turnover rates, tardiness, financial inefficiencies and elder resident dissatisfactions etc…and will ensure that wasteful expenditures in long-term elder care facilities will decrease.

The state of America's elder health care crisis, coupled with the inevitable increase in elder population, threaten to not only exacerbate the crisis, but also further erodes the national confidence in long-term elder care facilities and their financial viability. While government recognizes the extent of the problem, their efforts are largely aimed at political gain. Eventually the nation will experience a crisis causing widespread panic. This will drive government to a response not favoring the long term and best interests of the private sector. Given our social history, it is reasonable to predict that an elder care crisis of this magnitude will result in higher taxes, both corporate and personal, and a concomitant rise in entitlements. These factors coupled with the current need for the private sector to take charge of elder care issues signal a favorable opportunity to provide meaningful, financially sound, long-term solutions that opens the door to private sector volunteerism and responsibility (while avoiding harmful government alternative intervention). We feel the time is right for Private Sector involvement in the arena of elder social issues.