LeadingAge prepared this story so our members can more easily participate in National Caregivers Day, February 16—and so that our national, state, and local messaging is aligned. Use it on your website or in a newsletter or email message, for example. Brackets indicate text that should be modified for your organization. Revise the text so it sounds authentic to your audience.
HED: Recognizing Professional Caregivers: the Backbone of Aging Services
SUBHED or TEASER: On National Caregivers Day We Applaud the Professionals Who Provide Essential Services to Older Adults
TEXT: At [ your organization ] we appreciate the dedicated professionals who provide care and support to [ our residents/clients ] every day. We are especially pleased to focus on these invaluable professionals on National Caregivers Day, which also recognizes the millions of family caregivers.
Meet a few of the valued caregivers here in our community.
[ Include 2-3 sentences from a few caregivers in your organization. If they have worked there a long time, include that. Refer to them as a professional caregiver (not worker). Include a photo, if possible. ]
“[ Quote from the CEO or other leader on the valuable contribution professional caregivers make to residents’/clients’ well-being. ]
Just how important are these individuals to older adults and families nationally? Professional caregivers provide support to 20 million older adults who require assistance completing self-care and other daily tasks due to physical, cognitive, developmental, and/or behavioral conditions. It takes millions of skilled, devoted professionals to accomplish this.
Here’s a snapshot of the workforce in our state [To access your state data, click on PHI’s Direct Care Workforce State index, then your state on the map, then View State Profile from the pop-up box ] :
- [ # of direct care workers ]
- [ % of direct care professionals who are women ]
- [ projected growth of the number of new jobs needed to meet rising demand ]
Thank you for recognizing the exemplary caregivers in our community.