Non-profit

The Eldercare Workforce Alliance

Website:

eldercareworkforce.org/

Location:

Washington, DC

Formation:

2009

Executive Director:

Amy M. York

Type:

Non-profit

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The Eldercare Workforce Alliance (EWA) is an advocacy group comprised of 35 largely left-progressive organizations including major labor unions like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the worker center Caring Across Generations, and advocacy groups like AARP1 that focuses on improving policy towards elder care. 2 It is a project of the left-of-center lobbying group Tides Advocacy and is largely funded by grants from Atlantic Philanthropies and the John A. Hartford Foundation. 3

Founded in 2009 by Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) and the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), EWA currently advocates for policies like the Older Americans Act as well as continued federal funding of the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the Geriatrics Academic Career Awards (GACA) initiatives. EWA also advocates for continued federal support of Medicare and Medicaid, along with policies that support family-based immigration. 4

History

The Eldercare Workforce Alliance was founded in 2009 by Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute and the American Geriatrics Society. 5 Originally comprised of 25 member organizations, 6 EWA now includes 35 member organizations. These organizations include AARP, American Nurses Association, and Caring Across Generations as well as Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the country’s largest and most politically active labor unions. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also has several agencies involved in EWA, including the Administration For Community Living, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Office on Women’s Health. 7

EWA currently has state coalitions in North Carolina, with a membership coalition of 25 organizations, and Maryland. 8

Advocacy

While the Eldercare Workforce Alliance uses its advocacy for numerous issues, its policy priorities include care for older adults, support for Medicare and Medicaid, and immigration policies. 9

In supporting the eldercare workforce, EWA advocates for continued federal funding of the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the Geriatrics Academic Career Awards (GACA) initiatives. EWA supported the RAISE Family Caregivers Act, passed in 2018, and continues to advocate for the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act. 10

EWA advocates for the continued federal support of both Medicare and Medicaid, especially as it regards paying for elder care services, including home health care and long-term care like nursing homes. 11

Another of EWA’s policy priorities is immigration, especially as it regards the eldercare workforce. EWA continually urges policymakers to expand visa definitions of “merit” and “skill” to include direct health care workers. EWA also advocates for family-based immigration, claiming that limiting this immigration will decrease the number of family caregivers. 12

Funding

The Eldercare Workforce Alliance is a project of Tides Advocacy. 13 EWA was granted $1 million by Atlantic Philanthropies in 2008. 14 Its other primary funder is the John A. Hartford Foundation, which has granted EWA more than $1 million to date. 15 16 17

People

Amy York is the executive director of Eldercare Workforce Alliance. Before this, York advocated for Medicaid, Medicare, and the Older Americans Act, among other issues18 as the assistant vice president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. York formerly worked for the Amalgamated Transit Union and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA labor unions as a legislative and government affairs representative, respectively. 19 York serves on the boards of the Collaborative Action Team training for Community Health – Older Adult Network (CATCH-ON) and the UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care (UCSF HWRC). 20

Brett McReynolds is the former policy and communications manager as well as the former drector of government and public affairs for EWA. He was with EWA from 2017 until June 2020. 21

References

  1. “Our Members.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance. Accessed July 20, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/our-members/.
  2. “Our Supporters.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/our-supporters/.
  3. “Who We Are.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/who-we-are/.
  4. “Our Policy Priorities.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/our-policy-priorities/.
  5. “Eldercare Workforce Alliance.” PHI, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://phinational.org/partner/eldercare-workforce-alliance/.
  6. “Eldercare Workforce Alliance.” PHI, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://phinational.org/partner/eldercare-workforce-alliance/.
  7. “Our Members.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020.  https://eldercareworkforce.org/our-members/.
  8. “State Coalitions.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020.  https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/state-coalitions/.
  9. “Our Policy Priorities.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/our-policy-priorities/.
  10. “Our Policy Priorities.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/our-policy-priorities/.
  11. “Our Policy Priorities.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/our-policy-priorities/.
  12. “Immigrants And The Eldercare Workforce.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/research/issue-briefs/immigrants-and-the-eldercare-workforce/.
  13. “Who We Are.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/who-we-are/.
  14. “Grants Database: Eldercare Workforce Alliance.” The Atlantic Philanthropies, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/grants?q=Eldercare+Workforce+Alliance+&date-range-start=1982&date-range-end=2020&amount-start=0&amount-end=1000000000&qtyresults=50&sort=grant_year_awarded%7CDESC.
  15. “Eldercare Workforce Alliance.” The John A. Hartford Foundation, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://www.johnahartford.org/grants-strategy/eldercare-workforce-alliance.
  16. “Eldercare Workforce Alliance Renewal.” The John A. Hartford Foundation, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020.  https://www.johnahartford.org/grants-strategy/eldercare–workforce–alliance–renewal1.
  17. “John A. Hartford Foundation Awards Three Grants to Help Seniors.” Candid, December 10, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/john-a.-hartford-foundation-awards-three-grants-to-help-seniors.
  18. “Our Staff.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/our-staff/.
  19. “Amy York.” LinkedIn, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-york-a041855/.
  20. “Our Staff.” Eldercare Workforce Alliance, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://eldercareworkforce.org/about/our-staff/.
  21. “Brett McReynolds.” LinkedIn, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettmcreynolds/.
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The Eldercare Workforce Alliance


Washington, DC