Concerned that low wages and bad training were leading to poor care, Surpin created the program with grants from major foundations and city and state assistance. At the company's inception, demand for home care was skyrocketing because of cuts in Medicare that mandated shorter hospital stays. Quality training and close screening of prospective aides are crucial to a good start. One in four aides fails the first week of training. New employees also meet with a social worker to identify problems that may thwart success, such as child care issues.
Transportation also is arranged.
Transit cards can be used to get aides from job to job. In a job that often is physically demanding, frustrating, and isolating, these workers have staff meetings, continual training, and a say in how their company is run. More than 80 percent of the workers own shares in the company. From the first training session, employees must be on time, dressed in white clinical uniforms, and must appear ready to learn. Some are not fluent in English.