Aug. 1, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Lauren Shaham, (202) 508-1219
Linda Barbarotta, (202) 508-1209

BJBC Grantee Creates First State Program Rewarding Long-Term Care Providers Who Maintain High Quality Workforce

Washington, D.C. – The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed the first state licensure program that rewards long-term care providers who invest in building a high quality workforce, a program that North Carolina Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC) grantees designed and piloted.

The BJBC grantee worked with a broad coalition of partners to create the North Carolina New Organizational Vision Award (NC NOVA), a special license, to be awarded by the North Carolina Division of Facilities Services to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult care homes and home care agencies that meet new higher standards for workplace culture. The standards fall under four major areas: supportive workplaces, training, career development and balanced workloads.

"For the first time, providers will be rewarded for investing in their workers and improving the workplace culture. Turnover rates, which can reach 100 percent, can have a serious impact on providers, consumers and the workers themselves," said Robyn Stone, DrPH, director of BJBC, executive director of the Institute for the Future of Aging Services (IFAS) and senior vice president for research at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) said. "We are delighted that North Carolina has led the way in making high quality workforce one of the basic standards of quality care."

The partner team included all five state provider associations, workers, consumers, regulators and educators, to create the program. North Carolina’s QIO, the Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence, will determine which applicants have met these standards.

The North Carolina demonstration project is one of BJBC’s 13 research and demonstration projects nationwide. The goal of BJBC, a national grant program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies, is to achieve changes in long-term care policy and practice that help reduce high vacancy and turnover rates of direct care workers and improve workplace quality.

More information about the BJBC North Carolina project is available at www.bjbc.org and www.dhhs.state.nc.us/ltc/bjobcare.htm.
Better Jobs Better Care is a four-year $15.5 million research and demonstration program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies. Its goal is to achieve changes in long-term care policy and practice that help reduce high vacancy and turnover rates among direct care workers in long-term care settings and contribute to improved workforce quality. Technical assistance is provided in partnership with the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI).

Better Jobs Better Care is directed and managed by the Institute for the Future of Aging Services (IFAS), American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). For more information about Better Jobs Better Care, contact Robyn Stone at 202-508-1206, rstone@aahsa.org or visit www.bjbc.org.