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

A Denver area non-profit agency recently launched an innovative program to help simplify life for family caregivers who work for AT&T and other employers in the area. The AT&T Family Care Development Fund, a joint project of AT&T, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, provides seed funds for the project, called the Elder Service Network of Colorado (ESN).

According to Zac Warden, project director of ESN, "AT&T sought to find a single resource in the community that their employees could call. They wanted to be able to give one number for employees to arrange services. And they wanted to address the lost productivity that their employees run into when they deal with a fragmented system."

AT&T discovered the need for better coordination of elder care services as a result of findings of an employee survey conducted in 2000 by Ceridian, a work/life balance firm. In 2001, AT&T announced a national Request for Proposal process. ESN submitted a winning proposal and began program planning in 2002. There are similar programs, at different stages of development, in Dallas, Kansas City, San Francisco, and New Jersey.

"This is a first attempt to make it easier for our employees to coordinate services for their seniors," says Alan Youngblood, Director of AT&T Work and Family Programs. "Therefore, on some level, it is uncharted territory… and helping us to find a viable way to provide concrete help for our employees, especially when their older relatives live in another city"

The Model: One Step Beyond

ESN goes one step beyond the typical elder care resource and referral (R&R) service offered by some employers. Most R&R services, provided under contract by work/life benefit firms, offer the employee an "800" number to call, plus Internet-based information, to help find needed elder care help. A trained counselor who has access to a nation-wide database of elder care services responds to employee calls. The counselor helps the employee define the problem, then researches services available that address the problem, and provides a list of specific agencies the employee can call.

ESN performs all the functions of an R&R program and has developed and contracted with a local network of pre-screened providers that offer the diverse services that an elder might need, ranging from handicapped-accessible transportation to adult day care to in-home services. Providers in the network agree to a system of central billing by ESN, so the employee receives just one bill at the end of the month, regardless of how many different providers deliver services.

To sustain the project over time, ESN will charge a Care Coordination fee over and above the charges for the direct services purchased by employees. "Our goal is to be financially self-sufficient within four years," says Warden.

How ESN Works

Here's how the Network works for a hypothetical employee who needs home care and transportation help for an older relative:

When the employee calls ESN, a care coordinator identifies the specific needs. Then, the care coordinator arranges a home care provider and a transportation provider. Let's say the coordinator determines that four hours of home care per week are needed at a cost of $15.00 per hour ($60.00 per week) and that the elder will need one ride per week at a cost of $20.00 per ride. The Network staff person calls the home care and transportation providers and sets up everything for the employee. The employee receives a monthly bill for the direct cost of the home care and transportation, say four weeks at $60.00 per week = $240.00, plus four rides at $20.00 each for a cost of $80.00. ESN sends the employee a single monthly bill for $320.00, plus a 10% care coordination fee of $32.00, for a total of $332.00.

There is no cost to employers to participate in the program. "We can charge for participation but, for now, our goal is getting in the door, letting them know we are here. We want to work with each company based on what they want," says Warden.

Plans for Growth

"In the coming year, we are focused on getting things up and running, limiting our service area to Denver, Boulder and Jefferson Counties," according to Warden. "We will be going out to other corporations and service groups to involve them. And we are working with local foundations and the Area Agency on Aging."

In the long run," says Warden, "we want to see the network emerge as a leader in the elder service community, working with many corporations to serve their employees with this 'one stop shopping' model."

From AT&T's perspective, the future for such networks looks bright, says Youngblood, "I'd like to see more and more and more of these. This was seed money to develop a model and develop the tools that other communities can use if they want to perpetuate it. This is something that we think is viable and can work. We'll have to see how it goes."

For more information, contact Zac Warden at Elder Service Network of Colorado at zac@esnofcolorado.com or 303.964.2442 or Andrea Wicks Bowles, Senior Project Manager, Ceridian Corporation at wicksbowles@att.com.

Celebrate with us!

The Mature Market Research Center has presented a 2003 National Mature Media Award for Elder Care: A Six Step Guide to Balancing Work and Family, the most recent book by Bringing Elder Care Home president John Paul Marosy. To celebrate, we are offering readers of "Elder Care/Work Balance" newsletter a 50% discount on shipping costs on orders of 100 or more copies. Limited time offer, so call (508) 854-0431 or email us today! jpmarosy@bringingeldercarehome.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 on line 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.