Hot News
SB 199 passed (unanimously) in the Senate! This is the bill that will protect our seniors and disabled from having attendants in their home with certain criminal convictions. There was one amendment to our bill. "Failure to Identify" was taken off the list of 13 convictions we wanted to have included. This is really incredible since we knew there were other convictions that certain groups and wanted to also take off our list. The dedication and hard work of Senator Nelson and her staff - but most importantly the calls for support from you helped this to pass with only this one change. Thanks to each of you!
Action Needed
Dianne and Jane have a great opportunity to attend RWJF funded advocacy training in Washington DC in May. They will be making calls on Senator Hutchison, Senator Coryn, Congressman Green, Congressman Culberson, and Congressman McCaul. In preparation for the training and meetings, they have been asked to find out if any of our partners have "relationships" with any of these folks, have worked with any of them on any particular issues, or know anything about their particular interests, etc. If you can help Jane and Dianne with this homework assignment, please let us know.
Tell us what is happening in May to celebrate Older Americans Month! We want to hear about any events your organization is holding to celebrating Older Americans Month. Please email Morgan Carnes (mcarnes@careforelders.org) with all the important details.
PLEASE Contact your legislator! Your contact is critical to getting SB 199 through the House and on to becoming law. Please contact your representative and ask for their support of this bill that protects our seniors and disabled from having criminals in their home as attendants. Senator Rose is carrying this bill in the house for us.
This is really easy, really powerful, and really needed. You can find your representative by going on line to: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/. When you get to your representatives website, there is an easy way to send them an email. And REMEMBER - this is for the entire state of Texas, so if you know anyone - anywhere in Texas, please asks them to ask their representative to support this bill.
Workgroup & Other CFE Highlights
Access Network and the University of Houston School of Social Work team up for the 2-1-1 Caller Survey. A group of Dr. Patrick Leung’s graduate students selected the Access Network 2-1-1 Caller Survey as a class project. The students are conducting a telephone survey with 2-1-1 callers who agree to participate in the follow-up survey. The survey will provide information on the caller’s experience with the 2-1-1 service.
Quality & Workforce- Over the last year and half, there were 234 Personal Attendants from 5 network partner agencies that completed the Care for Elders 16-hour orientation training for Direct Care Workers. Although the training orientation training initiative has come to an end, we will continue to look at the impact that this training had on job satisfaction and retention.
Let’s Rethink Aging was this year’s theme at the Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging held March 7-10 in Chicago. There were over 900 sessions offered which covered a wide spectrum of topics from health and wellness promotion to advocacy and public policy initiatives. Care for Elders along with many of our partner organizations were at the conference providing their expertise through out the week as presenters in many of the sessions.
The following partners gave presentations:
- Center on Aging, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
- Gateway to Care
- Harris County Area Agency on Aging
- Harris County Hospital District
- Huffington Center on Aging, Baylor College of Medicine
- Neighborhood Centers, Inc.
- The Council on Alcohol and Drugs
- The Seniors Place
UPCOMING CARE FOR ELDERS MEETINGS
PLEASE RSVP! Long-term work group members and interested/potential members please communicate with the contact person indicated below PRIOR to the meeting, so we can adequately plan for copies of materials and refreshments. All meetings are held at the Sheltering Arms building unless otherwise indicated.
Evaluation Work Group: Thursday, April 12th, 11:30-1:30
Contacts: Kelley Moseley (KMoseley@mail.twu.edu) or Ilana Reisz (reisz@sbcglobal.net)
Stakeholder Education: Thursday, April 12th, 2:30 p.m.
Contact: Ellen MacDonald (emacdonald@earthlink.net)
Governing Council: Friday April 13th, 9:00-1:00
Contacts: Jane Bavineau (jbavineau@shelteringarms.org) or Nancy Wilson (nwilson@bcm.tmc.edu)
Access & Coordination: Wednesday, April 18th, 11:30-1:00 at United Way (room CD)
Contacts: Lynda Collins (lcollins@tmh.tmc.edu)
Government Relations: Friday, April 20th, 9:00-10:30
Contacts: Chris Pollet (chris.pollet@neighborhood-centers.org)
Consumer Advisory Council: Tuesday, April 24th, 11:30-1:30
Contact: Dianne Long (dlong@careforelders.org)
Quality & Workforce: Tuesday, June 26th, 9:00-10:30
Contacts: Lanette Gonzales (lanette.gonzales@alliancecare.com)
COMMUNITY NEWS/MEETINGS
Save the Date- Older Americans Month Mini-Conference: Preventing Exploitation and Elder Abuse: Now and In the Future. Adult Protective Services with the collaborations of community partners will be hosting a mini-conference commemorating Older Americans Month. Registration is free (RSVP by April 13, 2007)! The conference will be held Thursday, May 24, 2007 from 8:00 a.m. -4:30 p.m. at the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast. If you have further questions please contact: Mary Breaux at (713)767-2707 or Pleshette Cook at (713) 767-2762.
The Recreation and Wellness Health and Information Fair will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Judson Robinson Jr. Community Center. The community center is located at 2020 Hermann Drive in Hermann Park. The purpose of this fair is to promote a healthy lifestyle to parks staff and interested community center patrons. Care for Elders will be at the fair featuring our two consumer initiatives "Access Network" & 'Take Charge".
One Voice, A Collaborative for Health and Human Services, meets on the 2nd Friday of each month. The next meeting will be Friday, April 13th, from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. at the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast. Please come and share your interest and expertise to help the aging community in Harris County have a stronger voice at the legislature. For more information, visit the One Voice website: www.onevoicehouston.org.
The Annual Cancer Patient & Caregiver Conference will be held Friday, May 4, 2007 from 9:00am-3:00pm at the United Way Building. There will be a number of different panels and speakers including Dr. Michael Keating from MD Anderson, who will be the keynote speaker. This conference is free to all cancer patients and caregivers! CEU’s will be available for RN’s, LMFT, LPC, LCDC, and LCSW. For more information call 713-520-9873.
Job Opportunity- Sheltering Arms is looking for a director for its dementia-specific adult day center. Program management experience required -- preferably in a community-based setting; knowledge and experience with Alzheimer's or dementia also critical. Call Jane at 713-685-6506 or Susie Dunn, Human Resources, at 713-685-6518 with questions
News You Can Use is an E-Newsletter of Care for Elders. Please send information to be included to mcarnes@careforelders.org
