Monday April 16, 2012

The Last Word: Caregiving in the New Era
The world is new every day.
What we thought we knew, we don’t know;
‘cause the world is constantly changing.
The world is new every day.
The world into which we were born
Will not be the world when we die,
‘cause the world is constantly changing….
Our children must learn to live in a world that none of us can imagine.
How we do things today, will constantly change and tomorrow, will be antiquated.
Change happens faster than ever before. We cannot slow it, or stop it….
To make change in the world, we need to change ourselves.
When we’re done, the world will be different.
© 2010 Baarnwell’s Notes Publishing

Bobbie Brinegar and I heard this poem by Ysaye Barnwell set to music, sung by Ysaye accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra, in the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on April 13.  This poem is a good OWL guide: we are fighting for changes to make this a good world for those who come after us, but we must also change ourselves to recognize the changes that have already occurred.

On that same visit to DC, we attended a symposium, co-sponsored by OWL, with influential women discussing what matters when loved ones face aging. This is, of course, the topic of our 2010 OWL Mother’s Day Report, and the formal and informal subject of many of our OWL gatherings. One major theme: Guilt is the familiar feeling, as the women on this panel, and women in many other gatherings, articulate their sense of helplessness and despair in managing long, complex years of providing care to dwindling loved ones. We hold in our hearts the images of the thoughtful care provided to grandmothers and great-grandmothers; we wonder why we cannot do as well.

We cannot because times have changed. As Ellen Goodman (a distinguished author and panel member) pointed out, the current generation of family caregivers are already providing more care, to more elders, with more complex medical problems than ever before. It will get worse: there are an increasing number of elders who will need care, and fewer family members to provide it – particularly when geographic distances are added to the realities of smaller families and adults who can live a long time with chronic, disabling conditions and dementia. These are NOT the “old days” when one either returned to health or died. We can be treated medically to be kept alive – but only with substantial help. Thus: GUILT IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE to the realities of contemporary caregiving.

Most of the panelists emphasized the widespread denial that pervades our advertising (invest with us and never outlive your assets), our medical advice (Live Right and never become old and frail), our family gatherings (no need to be troubled with a discussion about end of life wishes and plans), and even our own secret fantasies (I will never be as confused as my aunt Mildred is now). All this denial makes for bad/ inadequate family planning, and even worse public policy.

Action Steps that emerged so far from this symposium:
•Take responsible actions and get your will, advance directives, and legal directives in order, discuss them with those you trust, and make sure they are in safe and known places.
•Before undertaking any medical procedures, make sure you – and your loved one – understand the possible outcomes of the procedures; do not assume that an invasive, possibly disabling intervention is the only alternative to “benign neglect”, since there is often a mid-range intervention that is better in the long (and even short) run.
•Make sure that Medicare is preserved; those of us who live long enough to qualify for Medicare will die on this program. Whatever adjustments must be made to ensure the survival of the program, we must fight for the program itself. It protects us and our survivors.
•Fight for appropriate recognition that unpaid family care is work. We must not allow women (and men) who provide the increasing amount of eldercare to jeopardize their own economic security in old age, or to become socially isolated. Many organizations are working to address these issues: providing Social Security benefits for family caregiving work; enticing/ rewarding work places that provide “family flexibility” to accommodate caregiving responsibilities; and Village organizations that support older individuals in remaining independent as long as possible.

This symposium was organized and sponsored by the Altarum Institute for Health Policy. Visit their website at www.altarum.org

Presenters (and their books) included: Cheryl Woodson, M.D. (To Survive Caregiving: A Daughter’s Experience, A Doctor’s Advice on Finding Hope, Help and Health); Muriel Gillick, M.D. (Denial of Aging: Perpetural Youth, Eternal Life, and Other Dangerous Fantasies); Susan Jacoby (Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age); Francine Russo, Ph.D. (They’re Your Parents, Too!: How Siblings Can Survive Their Parents’ Aging Without Driving Each Other Crazy); and Joanne Lynn, M.D. (Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness).

A videotape was made of the event; check out the Altarum site.

Monday April 16, 2012

The job search is hard for everyone, but people who are in their 50s and beyond may feel that they aren’t wanted in the workplace.  However, a recent article in the Society of Human Resources Management’s HR Magazine (March 2012) points out an increasing trend of employers actively seeking out older workers. Dale Sweere, director of human resources for Stanley Consultants says that older workers “typically hit the ground running much quicker and they fit into the organization well.”

Here are some pointers to get you through the initial screening process:
Don’t put the year of your graduation in your education section of your resume.
 
List only the past 5 to 7 years of your job history in your resume, unless you have experience further back that will give you an advantage over younger workers.

Be sure to list your computer skills towards the top of your resume, especially Microsoft Office skills, such as Excel, PowerPoint, and any additional programs that you have experience in.

Update your computer skills.  There are free online tutorials as well as many free or low-cost computer training courses offered at nonprofit organizations such as Byte Back. Consider taking a workshop on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, as well as commonly-used applications such as Evite, Googledocs and Doodle.  Also, you should think of learning a new technology skill such as HTML or WordPress to give you an edge over other applicants and show employers that you can hit the ground running.

Once you get the call for an interview, you may feel nervous or scared, especially if you haven’t had an interview in a long time.  To increase your confidence, try these tips:

Prepare for the Interview
Regardless of how much experience they have, actors and athletes still practice before the big event.  You should do the same.  The more prepared you are, the more relaxed you will be.

Research the company on their website—find out what they do, who the executive officers are, how many locations the company has.

Practice interviewing with someone a day or two before your interview.  Give them a list of standard interview questions to choose from. By practicing your answers, you will be more relaxed during the actual interview.  Prepare to answer the questions you are most afraid that will be asked, so you won’t be caught off-guard.

Have a good answer to the question: Why should we hire you? Sell yourself as to why you are a good match for this job.  Many employers are now understaffed because of past lay-offs.  Let them know that you can pick up the slack.

Have at least 3 questions to ask them.  You need to be actively engaged in the interview process, not just answering their questions.

Go in knowing what points you want to get across so that you can work them into your answers.

Be confident! They wouldn’t be bringing you in for an interview if they didn’t think you have the skills & abilities they want.  They may have gotten a hundred applications or more, and you beat out most of the competition already.  You may think that talking about your strengths is bragging, but if you don’t tell the interviewers, how will they know about them? You can be sure that your competition is doing it, so sell yourself!

Keep in mind what the key skills and personality traits that the employer is looking for, and that you excel in.  Generally these are teamwork, flexibility, enthusiasm, good work ethic, stability.  These are traits that Baby Boomers shine in.  Work them into your answers to the questions you are asked.

The Interview
Allow enough time to arrive at least 15 minutes early.  Being late will only raise your stress level during the interview, and make you look bad.

Take along a sample job application that you have filled out with all the details from your previous jobs, references, school addresses & dates, etc.  Most employers will ask you to fill out a paper application before the interview, even though you applied online.  You will be more relaxed if you have all of this information in one place and don’t have to sort through papers to find it.

Experience matters!  You downplayed your age in your resume, but now that you are sitting in front of the interviewers, they can see that you are older, so stress your maturity, your experience, your stability, your old-fashioned work ethics, and your ability to manage conflicts.  Let them know that you don’t miss work, that you enjoy working with people from other backgrounds.

Relax & smile.  Employers are assessing who will be a good match with the organization. If you are relaxed, they will view you as a pleasant person who will fit in and be a good teammate.

Take a note pad and write down the interviewers’ names.  Take notes about important points that came up during the interview.

Listen carefully to the question.  If you need to take a couple of seconds to think about it, do so.

How to increase your confidence
Treat yourself special—because you are!  Go out to lunch or coffee before the interview.  It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it can be relaxing to sit back and watch others at a restaurant or coffee shop as you sit back and think.

Wear something special that gives you a boost.  Remember how good it feels to wear a new dress or a new pair of shoes?  You may not be able to buy something new, but you can borrow something from a friend or relative, get something nice at a thrift store, or find something in your closet that you really enjoy but save for a special occasion.  This is that special occasion!  A nice scarf or piece of jewelry can give you that special feeling.  You might even get a compliment from someone in the interview.

Avoid desperation.  Don’t think that this is the only interview you’ll get, because it won’t be. Don’t tell yourself you need this job.  You need a job, but it may not be this one.  After all, an interview is a chance for you to assess the job, just as it is the employer’s chance to assess your fit.  You are there to check them out as well.  Ask yourself if you’d be happy in this job, working with these people, doing this work.  Ask questions that let them know that you are evaluating them as well.  By doing so, you are letting them know that they might lose a chance to hire a good employee.

In the interview, let it happen.  This means, if the fit is good, you’ll know it and if it isn’t, you probably don’t want to work there.  Just like on a date, the chemistry has to be there.

After the interview, be sure to send emails to the people who interviewed you, thanking them for their consideration, and emphasizing your strong points. The sooner you do this, the better. Then review your interview in your mind—what answers were really good, which ones do you need to work on.

Then, don’t wait around.  Give yourself a pat on the back, maybe celebrate a little, but then go back to your job search.  More job listings mean opportunities. This leads to more hope, more confidence.  Keep at it until you get the job you really want and deserve.

Create a Job for Yourself
During a sluggish job market, you might want to consider starting your own business.  You have a lifetime of experience, so put it to work!  You might be a consultant in the field you last worked in, or maybe use other skills.  Do you sew? Could you do eldercare?  Maybe you could teach part-time at a computer training center.  Also, this will fill in a gap in your resume and make you more employable if you decide to go to work for an organization later on.

Written by: Don Doggendorf, with Kelley Ellsworth, for Byte Back.
Visit Byte Back’s website at www.byteback.org

Monday March 19, 2012

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act, since then shortened to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

After the law was enacted, millions of people gained or were saved from losing health insurance coverage. For example, the elimination of lifetime limits to insurance coverage benefited up to 105 million people and the provision which expanded coverage for dependents up to age 26 benefited up to 1.3 million minority young adults.

Last year, OWL released its annual Mother’s Day Report entitled, “The Affordable Care Act: The American Version of Health Care for All,” highlighting the benefits the new law provided to women age 40 and over—now 74 million strong!

To celebrate the two year anniversary of the signing of this law, OWL is excited to recommend to you some of the events happening around this monumental occasion.

Click here to view some of the resources through White House, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and more.

Wednesday February 29, 2012

Today, OWL released it’s latest issue of the E-Observer. To see Volume III, Issue 2, click here.

Wednesday February 15, 2012

February 15, the Miami Herald published an op-ed written by Bobbie Brinegar, Executive Director for OWL-The Voice of Midlife and Older Women:

Accountability is a key element of leadership.

Shareholders, employees and customers expect business executives to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions or for their failure to act. Effective leaders understand this and act accordingly.

Why wouldn’t we hold our government leaders to this same standard?

For more than 1,000 days, Congress has failed to meet one of its most basic responsibilities — passing a concurrent budget resolution.

For 15 straight years, appropriations bills have been late. On Oct. 1, 2011, the government’s 2012 fiscal year began quietly without the spending bills necessary to fund the government. Despite this situation, there hasn’t been accountability in Congress for this failure to act.

It’s time to end rampant congressional dysfunction. We must incentivize responsibility and create and enforce consequences when accountability is lacking.

If Congress doesn’t pass a budget on time, members of Congress should not get paid until they do.

This basic concept is the foundation of the No Budget, No Pay Act introduced in the House and Senate in December.

The bill will go before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee mid-March.

The No Budget, No Pay Act is one of a dozen no-nonsense proposals by No Labels, the citizen-based movement of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who advocate for common sense ways to make Congress work.

It’s time for our elected leaders to signal to the public that they’re serious about cutting through gridlock and performing their duties.

Deciding how much money the government takes in and how much it spends is the most fundamental responsibility of Congress.

It establishes priorities for the coming year, sets a spending ceiling and provides federal agencies an opportunity to plan for effectiveness. And it provides a baseline to evaluate performance and is a critical measure of whether the federal government is functioning.

The short-term stopgap budgets Congress habitually adopts continue the spending patterns of the past year, with little or no change. This prevents strategic planning and contributes to runaway deficit spending.

People on the far left and far right represent just a fraction of the American public, but they exercise power well beyond their numbers for a simple reason: They get involved.

We simply can’t afford this. We elected these members to lead. We need to make sure they do.

Read the article here.

Friday February 10, 2012

Friday, OWL announced that it would support the Breast Cancer Deadline 2020 by the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC).

Launched in September 2010, NBCC has set a goal to work towards a cure for cancer by January 1, 2020. “For decades, we’ve been fighting cancer with hope. For decades the lives of our daughters, mothers, and friends have been in the hands of hope. It isn’t working,” states the website.

To sign up or for more information, click here to visit the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) website.

Monday January 30, 2012

OWL-The Voice of Midlife and Older Women recently sent a letter to Congress regarding a survey about menopause and women’s knowledge surrounding the life stage:

January 30, 2012

Dear Member of Congress:

We are writing to call your attention to and update you on an important women’s health matter that has major implications for women’s quality of life and health, yet gets very little public discussion.

Recently, OWL– The Voice of Midlife and Older Women – conducted a survey about women’s knowledge about menopause and the amount and type of information available to them about this major life stage. Our survey identified a glaring information gap about this important health topic with many women, particularly younger women, lacking even basic information. Among the highlights of the survey findings:

• • Nearly 70 percent of younger women (age 30-44), many of whom could shortly experience initial symptoms, say they don’t have enough information about menopause;
• • Two-thirds of younger women say they do not know most signs and symptoms of some of the most serious and life-altering symptoms of menopause;
• • Nearly a quarter of younger women – 24 percent – say they have more information about symptoms and treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED) than menopause.

Our survey also found nearly universal support for an effort to provide women better information.  Specifically the survey found:

• • 90 percent of women of all ages support a publicly available, Web–based menopause education program that includes information about how to manage and treat menopausal symptoms.

Women need to be educated about this juncture in life earlier so they can know what to expect and can plan for how they’d like to approach their symptoms. Getting reliable information earlier will mean better health and higher quality of life outcomes for women in the future.

As you develop your 2012 health care policy work plans for the next session of Congress, we urge you to add the issue of menopause education to your agenda. Addressing the significant education gap on this major women’s health issue will help millions of women and is strongly supported by your constituents.

Sincerely,

Bobbie Ann Brinegar, MSW
Executive Director

Wednesday January 25, 2012

In his State of the Union address to Congress, President Obama presented a number of proposals for strengthening the economy. OWL supports the President’s efforts in the following key areas:

Job Creation & Job Training – create more high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs, reform our tax laws to discourage sending jobs overseas and encourage creating jobs at home, and spur job-training partnerships between businesses and community colleges; and,

Equal Pay for Equal Work – abolish pay inequality, which costs women lost wages, reduced pensions, and reduced Social Security benefits.

On the subject of retirement security, President Obama stated that he was “prepared to make more reforms” on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security as a compromise to Republicans for closing tax loopholes and ending tax cuts for the wealthy. OWL remains concerned about the President’s willingness to make cuts to the lifeline programs that provide critical safety nets for millions of Americans. We urge the President not to sacrifice the security of current or future retirees and to take these programs off the bargaining table.

Tuesday December 20, 2011

“The goal is as simple as it is profound: to empower half the world’s population as equal partners in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened and affected by war, violence and insecurity. Achieving this goal is critical to our national and global security.”

—The U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security

Building on this recognition and the ongoing work of America’s diplomats, development experts, and military, today President Obama released the first-ever U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, and signed an Executive Order directing the Plan be implemented.  Together, the Executive Order and National Action Plan chart a roadmap for how the United States will accelerate and institutionalize efforts across the government to advance women’s participation in preventing conflict and keeping peace.

Click here to read the executive order.

Wednesday November 30, 2011

Dear OWL Members and Supporters,

America is at a critical crossroads.

While OWL acknowledges the need to address the long-term deficit, we believe cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid would be disastrous to millions of Americans who are already struggling with dwindling retirement savings and rising healthcare costs. 44 million Americans are on food stamps. This is reprehensible and serves as a powerful indicator of where we are as a country. We must urge our leaders to shift their focus away from cuts to these lifeline programs toward job creation now. In the coming months, Congress will be faced with the challenge to demonstrate leadership by working to ensure Americans have both meaningful and well-paying jobs.

At this crucial time, your support matters more than ever. And as 2011 draws to a close, we’re asking for your generous contribution to help us build upon our advocacy efforts in the coming year.

YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AT WORK

2011 was a busy and productive year for OWL. Our Mother’s Day report on healthcare was extremely well-received and continues to be in demand by decision makers. Our Mother’s Day campaign included a Capitol Hill briefing and resulted in over 15 national partnerships. We’ve contributed to White House policy discussions and have been regulars on Capitol Hill. And we’ve been strong advocates for critical legislation such as the American Jobs Act and the Affordable Care Act.

OUR CHALLENGES IN 2012 AND BEYOND

2012 promises to be an even busier year for OWL. In the midst of a difficult economy and threats to our retirement security, we will continue the battle to preserve and strengthen Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and to ensure access to affordable quality healthcare. As Congress considers legislation that supports job training and extends unemployment benefits, OWL’s 2012 Mother’s Day campaign will be right in step, highlighting innovative solutions to employment obstacles women face as they age.

But we can’t do it without your help.

SUPPORT OWL TODAY

Your gift will ensure that OWL can continue to be a strong and effective voice for the 74 million women in America age 40 and over.

Now, more than ever, your support will make a difference.

Thank you,

Margaret H Huyck, President & Bobbie Brinegar, Executive Director

TO DONATE: