Elise Scala: founder of Maine PASA

A PROGRAM OF EMPOWERMENT

Employer of Choice is a Direct Service Worker Demonstration Grant now in its third
year that is funded by the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Along
with Hummingbird and Coastal, other participating agencies are the Home Companions Association of New England in Saco and Anytime Services for Seniors in Hollis Center. The program seeks to address the challenges faced by agencies in finding and keeping qualified workers. “It is essential for home health care agencies to determine why direct care and aide employees are difficult to recruit and retain, ” states the project guidelines. “By understanding this, agencies can work to create a workplace where quality direct care staff will choose to stay employed.” PASA founder and Board member Elise Scala is the grant’s project director.

“ Each of these agencies was asked to establish an Employee Advisory Committee, and we asked that their direct care staff be significantly involved in the committee,” said Scala, who works for the Muskie School of Public Service, Health Policy Institute, University of Southern Maine. Dill said her experience on the committee has “promoted a feeling of acceptance, one in which you are not challenged by the barriers of a hierarchical status or position.” She maintains that such a committee structure “allowed us as a group to accomplish a lot of things very, very fast.” Hummingbird’s committee has been focusing on issues of employee wellness, including the challenges of maintaining professional boundaries in private duty home health care, and promoting life balance.
“In the field of professional care giving, the maintenance of professional boundaries and the professional maintenance of personal boundaries have probably been the most difficult lessons that I have had to learn,” said Dill. “It is one that I work on daily.” Cross said Coastal’s committee has been focusing on providing training opportunities for workers, as well as retention issues such as affordable insurance and better wages.

“It is essential for home health care agencies to determine why direct care and aide employees are difficult to recruit and retain ...”

“Employer of Choice has helped us with learning how to find out what kind of training is out there and how to get the training,” Cross said. “For instance, we didn’t even know that Hospice was free or was being offered, and being an Employer of Choice helped show us how to go about it.” Cross said she appreciates learning about training opportunities. “As a caregiver, sometimes you become that part of the family they don’t have. I just like to be there for them when people really need someone, to be whatever help I can be.” Each of the agencies involved in the grant has a site coordinator who helps in organizing programs related to staff development and staff-led job-related discussions, networking and recognition. The program is part of a grant to demonstrate and evaluate the impact of certain employee programs on the recruitment and retention of direct care workers.

Scala said the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have agreed to extend funding for the Employer of Choice program to focus specifically on health and wellness. More information about this will be included in the next newsletter. “PASA continues to grow and develop, and it’s especially exciting to see that the members are becoming more involved in defining the activities and the future,” Scala said. “Since my early days it was very evident that workers needed to be active participants in some of the committee
work on a statewide basis, and now Maine PASA is filling some of those seats.”