Its four years to the day since I started working with a client who is dear to my heart. About 3 years ago I asked one of his friends who is his primary caregiver to write a testimonial about my services. I’ve never used these kind words but re-read them on this 4th anniversary and think it’s time. A great lead-in to the theme of this month’s blog. Thanks Eric.
“I am really talking about quality of life issues. As a caregiver myself, I have experienced an industry that is barely meeting the guidelines necessary to support daily memory care needs. Lyndall has changed that experience. She has provided the care and directives I need to relieve my concerns regarding the overall well-being of my life-long friend. Currently, he is confronting the challenges of dementia and resident memory care living. Lyndall is a hands on, proactive coach and care giver. She has created a strong bond with our “family” and works across professional lines. She continues to renew my faith in eldercare professionals and teaches me how to maneuver successfully within the memory care environment.”
~Eric Anderson
The industry (yes, it IS an industry) of memory care “is barely meeting the guidelines necessary to support daily memory care needs.” This statement doesn’t reflect on the extraordinary caregivers we encounter in all aspects of memory care – from doctors to home health care providers and residential memory care employees. However, there’s an enormous gap between what the memory care industry is charging those who require memory care and what it pays for those who provide daily, hands-on care. Buildings are important. Design of buildings is also vital when designing for those with cognitive impairment. A wide variety of personalized activity and healthcare programming is important. All this costs money. But I can very easily make a strong case that the quality of hands-on staff is vital to the appeal and success of any memory care community. And I do realize that corporations are businesses and businesses need to make a profit. But at what cost and to whom?
Now, I can think of incredibly gifted caregivers I encounter who have the patience of Job and the compassion of Florence Nightingale and the gift of working with those living with cognitive 
impairment. I learn something from them all the time. They are the frontline workers in this industry. They work at building relationships with residents and families. This takes time. They include us as part of any care decisions. We can kvetch with them, bitch about what’s not working and how to fix it. They listen patiently to each and every concern we have about our loved one’s idiosyncrasies. These are the people who hold the industry afloat. The Certified Nursing Assistants, Medical Technologists, the Housekeepers. The familiar faces that greet you as you push that bell to be let in and that prevents any resident from leaving for their safety. The warm and comforting hug of welcome. The concern on each face about how he’s doing today. The respectful joking and bantering about some incident that one comes to expect when caring for someone with cognitive impairment.
And guess what these heroines get paid? A Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) in Charlotte, North Carolina earns an average wage of $10.40 per hour. Far from a living wage. And many are pat-time employees so there are no benefits in this employment package.
Eric wrote that “I’m really talking about quality of life issues” and I am too. But quality of life issues for the professional caregivers as well as those being cared for who do the real heavy lifting for this industry and deserve at the very least, a living wage. I imagine that it’s way past time!
