LeadingAge California, with funding support from Archstone Foundation, has stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic with creative ways to support healthcare workers—and the older adults they care for—on the front lines.
A $50,000 COVID-19 Emergency Response Grant from the Foundation enabled the organization to develop new training modules and bolster recruitment efforts for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). The grant also made it possible for LeadingAge to secure desperately needed hand sanitizer for Skilled Nursing Facilities and to advocate for continued funding for two state service programs that help keep older adults out of nursing homes.
The grant, awarded in May, will fund new training modules through an online platform in NextStep that will help train CNAs to provide direct care to COVID-19 patients. Through the use of self-paced, short videos, CNAs will have the opportunity to learn first-hand about infection control.
Although these modules are still being developed, LeadingAge is optimistic that they will have a substantial impact on future regulations for healthcare workers. The COVID-19 crisis has made individuals hyper-aware of the importance of infection control and the need to be trained.
Simple training procedures that individuals might have taken for granted, such as how to properly remove a mask and gown or the correct way to wash your hands, are now critical to the health and safety of staff and patients. The new training videos will not only help CNAs gain a better understanding of health safety, but also will call attention to the essential need to better educate CNAs on wounds and limiting the spread of common viral infections.
CNAs can play a vital role in caring for older adults, but there are not enough in the workforce to meet the growing demand. In addition to the new training videos, LeadingAge California plans to use part of its grant to create a recruitment video aimed at attracting more people to become CNAs.
Securing Hand Sanitizer for Skilled Nursing Facilities
In the beginning stages of the statewide stay-at-home order, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) were left scrambling to find suppliers who could provide them with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Typical supply lines dried up and there were few if any suppliers offering any new resources.
Archstone Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Grant also helped LeadingAge California secure a chemical services supplier, Enviro Tech, that completely re-tooled its supply chain plan to focus solely on manufacturing hand sanitizer. Through this order, Enviro Tech was not only able to offer their workers job security during the unforeseen crisis, but were also able to supply more than 600 gallons of hand sanitizer to several SNFs throughout California.
The distribution of these supplies helped prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus within the facilities, helping to ensure the overall health and safety of both staff and residents.
Advocating for a Brighter Future
LeadingAge California represents nearly 700 members of housing, care and services for older adults – including affordable senior housing, life plan communities, assisted living, skilled nursing, home- and community-based care and business partners and residents. The organization spans the full continuum of care in its advocacy, educational programs and public relations, helping its members serve the needs of hundreds of thousands of the state’s older adults.
The Archstone Foundation grant helped the organization step up its advocacy efforts on behalf of two important state service programs that help keep older adults out of nursing homes. In response to the severe economic crisis caused by the pandemic, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most recent budget proposal includes cuts to Community-Based Adult Services and Multipurpose Senior Services Program. LeadingAge California has sent a letter to the governor's office requesting that the budgets for both programs remain untouched.
If the cuts do go through, LeadingAge California sees it as an opportunity to plan for the expansion of the existing Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) program and continue to advocate for the support of long-term services and supports that would allow an individual to stay in their home longer.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, LeadingAge California has sought to highlight the growing need and demand to change the future of aging. The organization has continued to support and advocate for creative ways that this crisis can lead to the development of future programs that will ensure the safety of older adults as well as the promotion of services that improve the quality of life for all of us as we age.
With special thanks to Jeannee Parker Martin, President & CEO, LeadingAge California and Cindy Ward, Chief Financial Officer, LeadingAge California.
