An aging baby boomer generation intent on putting off assisted living and nursing home care as long as possible coupled with a new state initiative could lead to record demand for home-health-related services.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities says there are 160 home health service providers in the state and that the number is expected to increase significantly.
The U.S. Department of Labor has projected employment for personal and home care aides will grow by 51 percent or 389,000 jobs in the next 10 years. This position is considered one of the fastest-growing of all employment sectors.

Gov. Phil Bredesen's proposed Long-Care Community Choices Act of 2008 could be a boon to home care. The act would redirect the state's Medicaid spending toward home- and community based care.

Josh Smithson, owner and executive director of Nashville-based Seniors and More started providing "companion care" services in 2003

After starting out with a handful of certified nursing technicians, five years ago Smithson has grown his business to 80 full- and part-time employees and annual revenue of about $1.8 million.
Most home care companions, because of regulations, cannot provide direct medical care or dispense medicines.

"Families are often in a crisis situation and do not know what to do with an older parent or relative who needs personal care," says Smithson. "They are looking for direction and help in dealing with a difficult situation."

Families Smithson works with - sometimes at the request of parents needing care - often do not want to send aging family members to a nursing home or assisted living community and are looking for an alternative, he says.

Smithson meets with each family, goes over the needs of the client and develops a care plan. Needs can vary greatly and can include dressing, bathing, cooking and light housekeeping.

Metro HR tries to trim down layoffs

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=59446 
By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com

Metro Human Resources is working to offset the estimated 200 layoffs called for in Mayor Karl Dean’s budget proposal by switching employees to other departments and leaving current vacancies unfilled.

HR began meeting with other Metro departments last week to discuss the process for implementing the layoffs and how to mitigate the job cuts as much as possible.

HR asked Metro departments to turn in their layoff plans by May 1. Seniority is the first factor considered when cutting staff, according to civil service rules.

“The goal is to place all 200 employees that will be affected,” Metro HR Director Dorothy Shell-Berry said.

HR isn’t waiting for May 1, or for Dean’s budget proposal to be ratified by Metro Council in June, before it looks to spare as many employees as possible. Already, HR has started shifting would-be laid-off employees to other departments. HR is also speaking to local staffing agencies about placing Metro employees with other companies.

Metro Director of Finance Richard Riebeling said there isn’t officially a Metro-wide hiring freeze as a result of the budget cuts. However, between reassigning employees to other departments to avoid layoffs and eliminating about 130 currently vacant positions, there is a de facto hiring freeze across Metro.

“There are no new hires so we can figure out where we can put these people who might be affected,” Riebeling said.

With Metro Schools receiving a $27 million bump in funding and with the police department receiving a negligible 1 percent cut, the third-largest department, Public Works will be the hardest hit by the layoffs.

Public Works’ staff of about 450 employees is looking at about 50 layoffs, according the department’s Public Information Officer Gwen Hopkins-Glascock.

“I feel like… through restructuring they’re going to continue to deliver the services they deliver,” Riebeling said, adding the issue in many departments was efficiency and streamlining certain functions.

“You’re pleased about the budget in some ways, but you don’t feel good about it in other ways,” he said. “I had to talk to people [in the finance department] about their jobs and it’s not a pleasant thing.

“At the same time you have to be realistic. A government job historically was viewed as a safe job and you can’t do that anymore. The public won’t accept it and you have to trim the areas that aren’t the highest priority in order to continue to function.”

Metro Councilman Walter Hunt is the chair of the Personnel and HR committee. Hunt said after speaking with departments across Metro he was hopeful the number of layoffs could be limited as much as possible.

“It’s not unusual and it’s not unique,” Hunt said. “It’s a business and like many other businesses right now you have to make those decisions.

“Right now I feel good about the work we are putting into trying to look at all the departments across the government and see where we can place them.”