HCAOA The Voice Winter 2017-18

3 Winter 2017-18 MEMBER NEWS IN OCTOBER, THE HOME CARE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA launched the Faces of Caregiving campaign—a storytelling project focused on showing the incredible work professional caregivers do every day: their dedication, compassion, and the extraordinary value they bring to the jobs they fill and families they serve. The campaign features the profiles of seven exemplary caregivers, posted on the HCAOA website over a seven-week period. “Faces of Caregiving highlights the selfless, fulfilling, and often- times life-changing work that caregivers commit themselves to every day in every community across the country,” said Peter Ross, President of HCAOA. “These stories show that a career in caregiving can be personally enriching and teach valuable skills, while providing a unique opportunity to connect with people and improve families’ lives.” The campaign profiles seven caregivers from HCAOA member companies around the US. Beginning on October 24, Vicky-Lee Layden, HCAOA’s Caregiver of the Year for 2017, was the first fea- tured caregiver. One caregiver is featured each week, with Manolo Canlas and Sue Hartwich being the other caregivers featured thus far. The campaign showcases stories of their deep compassion, commitment to care for their clients as well as their families, and in many cases heroic dedication to the job—like saving a client from a burning home, developing tailored activities for those with dementia, providing care during a hurricane, and helping clients manage difficult symptoms and conditions. “These profiles show the personal connections, close relationships, and far-reaching benefits that are at the center of the home care industry, for clients and caregivers,” said Phil Bongiorno, Executive Director of HCAOA. “We hope that the Faces of Caregiving cam- paign will help more people recognize the potential rewards and opportunities of a career in caregiving and consider it themselves.” The campaign focuses on one of the fastest growing professions in the US, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects home care employment will grow 38 percent from 2014 to 2024, due to the rapid growth in America’s aging population. This will open hundreds of thousands of opportunities for individuals to become professional caregivers like those profiled in the Faces of Caregiving campaign. See the HCAOAwebsite for more information. Faces of Caregiving