Elder Care & Aging Issues
Sensitivity Programs
26% of American families are currently dealing with elder/parent care issues and facing new life challenges. This percentage is expected to increase to as much as 60% in the next decade or so.

Becoming a parent to a parent is, what I call,
a new role on the stage of life for which no one can ever rehearse.

Emotions, because they can't be 'seen' or 'felt' by anyone else, are the most difficult element in elder care scenarios. Because they are so elusive -- yet have such a tremendous impact -- they must be fully understood and dealt with appropriately in order to achieve win-win situations.

Carol Abaya Associates has developed unique audience interactive programs that provide an unusual perspective of the emotions involved in aging, elder/parent care, and role reversal and that help develop techniques and build skills to achieve positive caregiving objectives. The interactive audience exercises help bring out key issues of aging and role reversal.

Our programs are specially geared to:
	family caregivers
	geriatric and health care professionals
	corporate management and executives.

They are designed to:
	increase the understanding of the aging process and dynamics, and the emotions of both elders and caregivers.
	strengthen caregving skills and develop new ones for all caregivers, both family and professionals.
	provide TIPS for making caregiving more effective and less stressful.
	enable caregivers to more sensitively help elders maintain independence and a higher quality of life.
	help reduce employee turnover, and the inherent high costs involved, in corporations and health care facilities.
	enable corporations to maintain productivity and service, and at the same time be sensitive to employee needs.

PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS COMMENTS REFLECT OUR SUCCESS:
	"I have attended at least 10 of these caregivers seminars and this is the first I've found helpful." (woman in Arizona)
	"You have 'freed" me (from guilt and overwork). (woman in New Jersey)
	"I really didn't understand a lot; now I do." (a professional at a national conference)
	"Fabulous! I want my staff to hear this." (a facilities nursing director)

Even elders who attend our programs respond with praise:
	"Thank you. Now I know how my children feel."
	"I'm proud of myself. I've made a lot of good decisions that will relieve my children of caregiving responsibilities." (a CCRC resident.)

The Professional Health Care Arena:
According to Provider magazine, the average annual turnover rate for certified health aides (the mainstay of nursing homes) is 93% and for RNs 50%.

Replacement costs are more than $2,500 for health care aides and as much as $7,000 for a nurse. With a tighter labor market, increased competition, and increased elder care needs, health care facilities (whether SNFs, ALFs, CCRCs, or other alternative living arrangement) must address important aging and caregiving issues.

Our interactive programs:
	provide a new perspective on the emotional issues of aging and caregivers and elders' psyche
	strengthen staff caregiving skills and develops new ones
	focus on developing techniques to enhance resident/family--staff relations, and
	enable staff to more sensitively meet customer (both resident and family) needs

The Corporate Arena:
As more Americans live well into their 80s and 90s, elder care will affect most employees at some point in their work careers.

Employers simply cannot afford to lose the irreplaceable expertise and knowledge of many of their most experienced and dedicated employees -- particularly when the labor force is expanding more slowly than in previous years. (Elder Care and the Work Force by Andrew E. Scharlach, Ph.D.)

And according to The New York Business Group on Health, Inc., "The problems and needs of employee caregivers may be more widespread than they appear from the survey findings."

The statistics tell the story:
	In reality, more productivity is lost from employees having to fulfill elder/parent care responsibilities than for child care ones.
	More than $30 billion a year is lost in productivity.
	Some studies indicate lost productivity and additional health costs amount to $25,000 per caregiver employee.
	An Abaya extrapolation indicates a more costly formula -- for every 34 employees a company has, it loses the equivalent of one full year's worth of productivity.

Divide the number of employees by 34, and multiply that number by the average salary and benefits package cost. You then get bottom line dollar loss impact.

Special multi-level LifeLine programs are geared to:
	Employee caregivers
	Managers & Supervisors
	Upper Level Management and Executives

Program Specifics:

Program #1: The Emotions of Aging -- THE Most Critical Element
Emotions, because they can't be 'seen' or 'felt' by anyone else are the most difficult element in elder care scenarios. Participants will actually experience what the elder is experiencing in this unique skill building session.

Program #2: Alzheimer's & Dementia - How to Deal With Unreality
With millions of older Americans experiencing Alzheimer's or some other dementia, learning how to cope with the progress of such illnesses and the stresses involved is critical. Participants learn techniques to help elders retain their own dignity and to reduce caregiver stress.

Program #3: Corporate Specials
Corporate programs combine Program #1 or #2 with the development of a better understanding of what elder care responsibilities means to productivity loss and corporate bottom line. Also, TIPS on how to more effectively deal with caregiving employees.

Program Sponsorship:
	Family Caregivers: Family members make up the vast majority of elder caregivers. They are the unpaid heroes of the 21st century. Any help given to individual caregivers snowballs positively to the overall society.

Programs can be sponsored by:
	a non-profit or religious organization or a medical illness association. A dual sponsorship objective might be for education and PR purposes. Such programs not only help family caregivers cope with elder/parent care challenges, but also develop public awareness of the organization itself and its good works.
	an individual health care facility or elder care service provider or a coalition of these with an education venue/focus and for marketing purposes.

Professionals in Geriatrics: Staff retention is a key to consistent quality care, customer satisfaction, and positive bottom line. It is also critical given today's state and federal regulations for licensing and accreditation.

Programs can be sponsored by:
	individual health care facilities or providers
	a coalition of providers
	a nursing home, assisted living or hospital chain

Corporations: Efficient productivity of prime employees and retention of knowledgeable and experienced staff are critical to maintaining a competitive edge and positive bottom line.

Programs can be sponsored by:
	individual companies for their caregiver employees
	individual companies for their management and supervisory staff
	a group of companies or a business organization for management staff

Program Length: The length of a program depends on the audience and sponsor objectives and ranges from 1 1/2 hours to all day. The basic family caregiver program is 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. Professional geriatric and corporate programs are a minimum of two hours.

Program Costs: Our fee depends on the audience and length of the program. Out-of-pocket and travel expenses are billed separately at cost.

Geographic Coverage: There are no restrictions as to the location of a program. We are located in New Jersey, USA. National and international presentations are welcomed. (Have suitcase; will travel, and will put Saya, my four-legged loved one, in a 'hotel.')

Technology is also available for long-distance and multi-site telecast programs. Cost is dependent on your objectives, the audience, and your budget.

For More Information or to Schedule a Program
Call Me Personally
At 732-536-6215.

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