By John Paul Marosy, President
Bringing Elder Care Home LLC
jpmarosy@charter.net
(508) 854-0431

In May 2001, Family Services of Westchester County (New York) opened a combination child care center and elder care center in cooperation with the Mount Kisco Day Care Center. It is operated by My Second Home, a program of Family Services. This intergenerational day care center serves up to 130 children and up to 50 frail older people per day and incorporates a variety of interactive activities involving children and elders. In this first of two articles, we interview Maria Seton Ferris, IBM's Manager of Work/Life and Women's Initiatives. Ms. Ferris was involved in the planning and development of the center, the only shared-site intergenerational day care program in the Northeastern U.S.

John Paul Marosy (JPM): How did this project come about?

Ferris: It goes back to the early 90's. IBM has long been interested in the topic of dependent care both from an elder care perspective and a child care perspective. So, it seemed to us to be a nice way to put the two together. Family Services of Westchester County took over the elder care piece and opened My Second Home.

We have gotten very positive feedback. We do not have any IBM families making use of the elder care portion of the program but we do have employees taking advantage of the child care service.

JPM: How does this type of initiative fit into IBM's global work/life balance strategy?

Ferris: The statistics about the increased need for elder care are compelling. As we look at dependent care needs of our employees, clearly a large percentage of our employees have needs in this area. We also see, particularly in the U.S., a growing need in the area of elder care. So, as we develop strategies to help our employees remain more productive at work and to help them better balance their work/life issues, elder care becomes an important element of our strategy.

JPM: How much did IBM invest in building the center?

Ferris: IBM's piece of the project was about $500,000. The total project was $4 million and included other partners other than IBM. It included some other ABC champion companies (ed note: ABC refers to the American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care http://www.abcdependentcare.com

JPM: In considering this investment, did IBM calculate the return on its investment in terms of employee productivity or reduced absenteeism, turnover, other factors?

Ferris: We don't do that on a project-by-project basis. The way we look at that is through the work we do through our work/life surveys. We've been doing surveys in the U.S. since 1986. In 2001, we did our first global survey. And what we have found is that we have some very specific links between the employees' ability to manage work/life demands and their thoughts and attitudes about IBM being a good employer. So, we have some good links between this and retention and attraction and also motivation.

JPM: So, there is evidence that investment in this type of support pays dividends in terms of loyalty and less turnover.

Ferris: Exactly. Yes. Our work/life strategy is an important element of our overall strategy to attract and to retain and to motivate our employees.

JPM: What has the reaction been in the immediate local community?

Ferris: Very positive. It's interesting that, in the Westchester county area, we have many employees who are here in the U.S. on assignment. And they love the intergenerational model because it's very close to their culture, where they have a history of having more interaction between children and elders.

JPM: What countries do you have in mind when you're thinking of those employees?

Ferris: Some of the European countries and some of the Asian countries.

JPM: So, you find that employees from these countries have more experience with interaction among the generations?

Ferris: It was certainly their perception. It was a surprise reaction for us. They really liked it.

JPM: How will the on-going operation be financed?

Ferris: On-going operations will be financed based on the operating model of the center. Our funding is really for start up and we do not provide on-going subsidies for costs incurred by IBM employees.

JPM: Does this signal the development of other intergenerational centers at other IBM locations around the U.S. or the world?

Ferris: We will need to look and see what the experience is here and learn from this. If it's successful, then, we'll look at it as a good model. At this time, we don't have any other intergenerational centers that we are working on.

Next Issue: Inside an intergenerational center. How does it work? What does it cost?

Comments we received about last issue's focus on the time crunch faced by employed family caregivers:

"There is a terrible dilemma here. As the number of baby boomers leaving the workforce and needing to be cared for grows, the smaller baby bust workforce is shrinking. Fewer and fewer workers have to support more and more retired and disabled people."

"That points in the direction of even longer hours to earn enough to support the previous and next generations."

Niels Nielsen, Princeton Management Consultants http://www.pmcnielsen.com

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"I enjoyed this issue and topic of time very much; thanks John Paul. It coincides with some thinking of my own recently - a small new 'discovery.' I call it a version of 'the secret to happiness.

"The new secret = Plan a regular time (a month, week, day, or even an hour, regularly) when 'there is nothing that must be done.' This is different from 'having nothing to do' which in fact may be stressful. 'Nothing that must be done' means you are free to relax, or do anything that your own spirit guides you to do, for yourself, even if that includes another. It only requires that whatever you do does not 'have to' get done that hour, week, or month, etc."

Lauren E. Storck, PhD, CGP; Coordinator, Eldercare and Technology Matters, Gerontology Center, Boston University www.bu.edu/gerontology (link to eldercare); and www.caregiving-online.com.

John Paul Marosy
Editor and President,
Bringing Elder Care Home, LLC

John Paul Marosy is the author of Elder Care: A Six Step Guide to Balancing Work and Family, available from Bringing Elder Care Home Publishing online at www.bringingeldercarehome.com or by calling 508-854-0431.

This newsletter may be reprinted in whole or in part so long as the author, John Paul Marosy, is credited and the Web site address, www.bringingeldercarehome.com, is provided.