Make America Care Again

There is a lot going on right now, in case you have been on Mars and have not noticed. One thing about a shakeup is you do not really know where you are going to wind up; and, it is best to be on the outlook for any opportunities to influence the outcome of challenges to business as usual. I think we can all agree that we are not experiencing anything resembling business as usual.

If you have been following this website and my own postings on LinkedIn to any extent, you will also have noticed that we have been very concerned with issues surrounding the rapidly compounding caregiving crisis and associated health care issues. Lately, I have been personally challenged in my efforts to maintain my own focus on what I have always viewed as a critical area for collaborative effort with well-chosen colleagues. I have wondered whether my efforts have been misplaced. I am a gerontologist and I knew from the very beginning that this area of interest would be a continuing challenge throughout my life, which was one of the reasons I was drawn to the field. I also love the universality of aging as a common target of concern for all people from all backgrounds. That is still what draws me to the field. As I have searched my mind for continuing relevance of the caregiving crisis as a worthy target of my efforts, I have found that perhaps this work is even more relevant in the face of the divisions that have evolved among different constituencies in the US. Even more than ever, promoting caring as a societal objective, seems, not only to have gained greater practical significance, but has also emerged as the perfect metaphor for healing the fractures in the hearts, souls, and minds of the American people. This is what reinforces my interest in continuing my work in pursuit of a more caring environment.

I am very proud of my co-founder Dr. John Imhof, who is now serving as the Commissioner of Social Services in Suffolk County, New York. He is involved in community healing efforts, which are so fundamental to the concept of promoting caring. This got me to thinking about the individuals with whom we have connected along this path, and I realized that there is one basic common denominator that defines us. Each of the individuals, who represent both public and private industries, not only is driven by innovative thinking, but at rock bottom, a dedication to service; and perhaps above all, a “sociological imagination.” I have written about this imagination before, a reference to C. Wright Mills' description of the “ability to see the context which shapes your individual decision making, as well as the decisions made by others” (National University Website). It is this common thread that joins us and allows a group of individuals to form a common bond.

I have decided to give some recognition to these individuals in this blog and to identify the common ground of our separate efforts. For details, please refer to the Resource Consultants section and the individual bios. Jeannette Galvanek was one of my first contacts on LinkedIn. The first time I spoke with her, I thought I was speaking with a sociologist with a good head for business. She understood the person in environment perspective as well as the need to integrate the disparate parts of a system in the service of the whole. Her focus on the caregiver- employee, workplace innovation, caregiver education, workforce development all are carefully connected into a masterful design for promoting “carewise solutions.”

The list goes on. Anyone involved in caregiving has heard of Neal Shah and what he is doing to revolutionize workforce development and caregiving technology. He too is concerned with integration and transformation of care delivery systems and he is making important inroads in these areas. Raymond LaVine has boldly set out to expand on his long--term care insurance career by promoting knowledge of long-term care insurance and essential financial topics related to continuity of care planning to help motivate people to plan financially. Danielle Miura, similarly combines her long- term care financial planning services with a rich educational program of podcasts and tools. Candra Wallace, a fellow social worker, is an advocate for healthcare and aging, with a particular focus on strengthening our nation’s healthcare and aging services workforce. Each of these individuals appreciate the connection between the private and public sectors.

We have recently added a few more individuals to our list of resource consultants. Mike George has developed a “personal caregiving companion” entitled, “The Pink Book, which is notebook that incorporates predesigned templates that can be used to organize everything that matters about your loved one’s care. I was attracted to the fact that you fill in the information yourself. It is not an app. It is a guide. Helene Cohen is another new contributor whose experience in resource coordination, multicultural outreach, supervision, and program planning is represented by her service contributions in the areas of affordable housing, advocacy for the elderly, and case management. Currently, Helene and Jeannette and I are working to promote caregiving education and workforce development for a range of groups, including, formal and informal caregivers as well as health personnel and health care students, as one example of the common ground of interest that has evolved through our association.

Dr. Terry Tirrito is my longtime colleague and friend. She is an experienced educator and researcher. You might say, Terry is the consultant’s consultant.  Another consultant’s consultant is Rochelle Sandell who has a multidisciplinary professional background that includes mental health counseling, health facilities evaluation, public health service, nursing, and law. Her deep understanding of the connections between government regulatory compliance and acute and post-acute health delivery is vital to private as well as public planning in the transforming environments of caregiving as well as health care.

Each of these consultants offers hands- on assistance, the old- fashioned way, although, in some cases, with added technological enhancements. Each represents a different caregiving perspective; but, fully appreciates the importance of promoting a caregiving culture and integrated infrastructure to support their respective work as well as the advancement of a caring society.

I decided to pay homage to them because of the inspiration that they have provided to this little, but big hearted, endeavor that is the New Aging Partnership. I know how important it is to reinforce these connections in the interest of our common cause. I also invite others to join with us in Making America more Caring.

Change, as you know can be top-down or bottom up or both. I found this quote from BryanLindsley.com:

What I came to understand is that most impact is not top-down – but rather a result of individuals playing their own unique role in a larger ecosystem.                                                                                                                              

I think I will keep going with this mission and hope it catches on.