Bridging the gaps: State and local strategies for ensuring backup personal care services
(2006). Bridging the gaps: State and local strategies for ensuring backup personal care services. Washington, D.C.: AARP Public Policy Institute. Retrieved 38998 from http://www.aarp.org/resea rch/longtermcare/quality/ 2006_19_pcs.html
Abstract
The United States is experiencing a severe shortage of qualified direct-care workers to provide personal care services (PCS), a shortage promising to increase as our country ages. Evidence from a growing number of studies reveals that wages and benefits paid to PCS workers play a fundamental role in determining the quality and quantity of these workers.
People with disabilities face a particular kind of risk when authorized personal care services (PCS) are not delivered. In some cases, people may not receive the support they need, such as assistance that enables them to go to work or to maintain their independence and self-direction. In other cases, these individuals can find themselves at risk of emotional distress and even physical harm resulting from, for example, going for hours without being transferred from a bed to a wheelchair or to the bathroom, skipping medications, getting insufficient food and water, and being unable to attend to personal hygiene.
This AARP Public Policy Institute report by Dorie Seavey and Vera Salter of the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute examines state and local initiatives to ensure that effective mechanisms and safeguards are in place to identify and respond to service delivery failures that require backup coverage for Medicaid PCS (abstract from: http://www.aarp.org/research/longtermcare/quality/2006_19_pcs.html).