Award
Winners
2005
BUSINESS AND AGING AWARDS
The ASA Business and Aging Awards, one for a large company and one for a small company, recognize exemplary company programs that meet the needs of older adults and their families, expand public awareness of the private sector's increasing involvement with older adults, and create performance models for other companies to emulate.
LARGE
COMPANY
The Hartford
Southington, CT
In America, an independent lifestyle is about “auto-mobility.” The ability to go where we want when we want, without depending on anyone else, is central to aging gracefully and happily. Car keys are far more than car keys—they are the keys to dignity and independence.
Many family members of older drivers are concerned about their loved ones' abilities to continue to drive safely. Families are reluctant to take action unless absolutely necessary and worry about discussing the matter without creating hurt feelings. Until recently, families have had few resources to turn to for help.
Now, that's changed. In 2004, The Hartford Financial Services Group launched its Family Conversations Public Education Campaign in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AgeLab.
Through its original research, The Hartford and MIT's AgeLab found that older drivers considered driving cessation to be a family issue and preferred that it be addressed within the family, with support from a doctor if health issues are involved. The research explored what older drivers thought about driving and how they wanted family members to discuss their driving.
The Hartford /MIT AgeLab study included a nationally representative survey of 3,824 licensed drivers aged 50 and older, in addition to focus groups.
The Hartford/MIT AgeLab partnership also explored ways to encourage families to play a more active role in helping their loved ones balance independence and safety. Were there ways to involve families earlier in the process, before a crisis occurred? Could conversations be more effective than a screaming match or slammed doors?
With families looking for a constructive way to approach difficult conversations about driving and with few public resources available to guide them, The Hartford saw an opportunity to package the findings from its research into a practical, user-friendly guide for older drivers and families struggling to preserve independence and safety. The effort resulted in the publication, We Need to Talk: Family Conversations with Older Drivers , which was made available to the public free of charge via its companion website www.thehartford.com/talkwitholderdrivers in June 2004.
We Need to Talk, offers families a multi-step approach to crafting candid, effectual discussions about driving safety, from positive conversation starters to advice on which family member should broach the topic. The guide also features an important warning signs checklist; strategies for alternative transportation; testing opportunities; a transportation cost worksheet to determine the annual expense to own and operate a car; and recommendations on what to do if a parent has dementia or a high-risk driver refuses to stop driving.
The Family Conversations website was created based upon principles of good design for the 50-plus population. It was made easy to navigate, with ample white space and appropriately sized font for readability, and included the capability to increase the font size. The website featured downloadable worksheets and a downloadable PDF of the We Need to Talk brochure.
Free printed brochures can be ordered online at the Family Conversations website. Aging-related organizations are encouraged to order quantities of the free brochure and distribute them to their constituents. The ten thousand volunteers in AARP's Driver Safety Education Program are utilizing the We Need to Talk booklet in their driving classes around the country.
LARGE COMPANY
Honorable Distinction
PacifiCare—A Solution for Caregivers
Santa Ana, CA
PacifiCare, a leader in healthcare innovations, created A Solution for Caregivers, a program that recognizes the impact on older employees and retired seniors who are caring for an aging loved one. No other company or program offers the comprehensive, personalized support for caregivers that A Solution for Caregivers provides.
A Solution for Caregivers , created in 2003, provides its ½ million members with one place to call – 24 hours a day, seven days a week toll-free. From this call, the caregiver is given personalized support by a geriatric specialist. The specialist conducts exhaustive research and provides recommendations which can include in-person geriatric care manager service located in all 50 states, elder law assistance and preparation of legal documents, counseling on caregiving stress and family issues, and more. Many of these services are provided cost-free so we save our members not only time in researching their situation but also money once they coordinate these services.
One of the goals of the program is to help caregivers recognize the importance of taking care of their own health and well-being so they can continue caring for their loved one. That is why the program provides information on the care of your loved one but also help in finding resources such as respite and in-home assistance, support groups and transportation and meal delivery services – all things that allow caregivers to balance their obligations and remain in charge of caring for their loved ones.
To date, the program has made over 13,000 referrals of community resources. A Solution for Caregivers also has been instrumental in giving its members the valuable services of geriatric care managers who have made more than 300 “house calls” to help caregivers create detailed plans for future care of their loved ones or themselves. And, elder-law attorneys have helped members with legal advice and preparation of important documents such as wills and powers of attorney in over 800 cases so far.
A Solution for Caregivers is unique in many ways:
- It is the first program specifically for caregivers to be offered by a healthcare plan.
- It is the first caregiver program to be approved as a benefit by CMS.
- It is the first caregiver program to include geriatric care manager and elder law services as part of the benefit.
At PacifiCare, we believe “Caring is good. Doing something is better.” A Solution for Caregivers delivers on that promise, providing caregivers with an invaluable resource that will help them maintain their well-being while they care for their aging loved ones.
SMALL BUSINESS
SeniorDiscounts.com
Houston, TX
SeniorDiscounts.com is an online directory of age-related discounts for people fifty and older. In April 2001, SeniorDiscounts.com began with approximately 25,000 discounts listed nationwide. Thanks largely to help from our senior community, there are now over 125,000 discounts listed in our online database. SeniorDiscounts.com publishes a free e-mail newsletter, reaching over 60,000 seniors each week, and our website receives about 100,000 unique visitors every month.
SeniorDiscounts.com has always been committed to give back to the over-fifty community. Our mission is focused: to locate existing discounts and create new discounts for the senior community, to make those discounts easy to find and redeem, and to provide a forum for seniors to share the discounts they have found with other seniors.
Seniors can locate discounts on our website by specific geographic location as well as by discount type. The discounts are provided including business names, addresses, contact information, links to business-specific websites and maps to the locations providing the discounts. SeniorDiscounts.com has proven to be an important community resource for businesses and the general public. The website, newsletter and search engine all provide useful information for seniors and a positive medium for businesses to promote their commitment to the over-fifty community.
SeniorDiscounts.com also has been a catalyst for businesses to initiate senior discount programs and created ways for businesses to attract the senior market, a very loyal demographic. SeniorDiscounts.com has generated senior discounts for hundreds of local businesses as well as several national chains.
SeniorDiscounts.com recognizes the need to expand its services to the “offline” senior market and is excited to be introducing the SeniorDiscounts Card and Guide Book. The Card is a membership program offering additional, more valuable discounts for seniors 55 and older who pay an annual fee. The Card program will provide businesses that participate a more direct and personal medium for attracting seniors. The Guide Book is a printed version of the national online database published by SeniorDiscounts.com, available to Card members and for private label use by businesses for marketing as an added benefit.
SeniorDiscounts.com has received very positive feedback from the under 50 community as well. Many children and grandchildren of seniors have used information on our website to help their senior relatives locate discounts. As the senior community grows, SeniorDiscounts.com looks forward to expanding with it. You can visit us at www.seniordiscounts.com for more information.
SMALL BUSINESS
Honorable Distinction
Healing Arts Communications
Medford, OR Healing Arts Communications, a division of Health Care Training Systems, Inc., provides educational resources for organizations that work with family caregivers and professional care providers. The company was founded in 1995 by Marion Karpinski R.N.
After years of working as a home care nurse, Ms. Karpinski was keenly aware of the need for family caregiver education. “I saw how stressful it was for family caregivers, who seldom have medical experience, and yet are expected to provide hospital-level care at home.”
“When we started Healing Arts Communications 10 years ago, the professional delivery of health care was different from what it is today. At that time, nurses provided care and the focus was more on the patient and patient education. There was little attention paid to the role or needs of the family caregiver. When we first began, we really had to educate people in the home care field to make them aware of how essential it is to support and train family caregivers. Today, people are very aware of the crucial role family caregivers play in long term care. It's been rewarding to contribute to this change,” Ms. Karpinski said.
For the past decade, Healing Arts Communications has developed training programs, videos and books used by area agencies on aging, home health agencies, hospitals, native tribes, senior centers, colleges, high school vocational programs and others.
The company produces The Home Care Companion DVD/Video Collection , a series that has earned high ratings from the National Alliance for Caregiving, National Hospice Foundation, Video Librarian and National Mature Media Awards.
One of Healing Arts' most successful programs is The National Caregiver Training Program , an 18-hour course designed to help organizations educate family caregivers and volunteers in essential caregiving skills. The program was given a 4-star rating by the National Alliance for Caregiving and is currently being implemented by hundreds of AAAs, hospices, home health and other agencies throughout the country.
Healing Arts has produced several books for caregivers in its Home Care Companion Book Collection. These include Quick Tips for Caregivers, Quick Tips for Caregivers Workbook, A Guided Journal for Caregivers and A Guide to Working as a Personal Care Attendant.
Healing Arts also developed Spanish-language versions of many of its materials, including The National Caregiver Training Program , Alzheimer's Training Program, eight DVDs/videos and the textbook Quick Tips for Caregivers.
In 2004, Healing Arts released the Personal Care Attendant Training Program , a 30-hour course for in-home direct care providers, who play an integral role in eldercare services. The program is designed for use by community colleges, high school vocational programs, adult education and workforce development.
Healing Arts Communications continues to produce additional training programs, videos and books. Three hour training programs on Alzheimer's, Aphasia, and Elder Abuse are available. Videos on Developing Cultural Competence, Personal Care, Caregiver Wellness and How to Take Vital Signs have recently been released.
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