Category: Press Release

LUTHERVILLE, MD — In response to the ongoing eldercare workforce crisis, Engage with® Skills Training Programs, a national non-profit initiative of the Mental Health Association of Maryland, has created a no-cost 3-Step Workforce Shortage Toolkit. This complimentary Toolkit is part of growing collection of online resources developed specifically to provide desperately needed support for long-term care facility (LTCF) administrators who struggle to find relief to this workforce crisis.

To access this complimentary 3-Step Workforce Shortage Toolkit, LTCF administrators are being encouraged to sign up for their no-cost Engage with® membership, which provides Members instant access to a personalized dashboard with free resources and toolkits to address staff turnover and the workforce shortage challenge facing all long-term care facilities.  The 3-Step Workforce Shortage Toolkit takes members on an easy, three-step path to a better understanding the true costs of turnover and other significant factors that impact their staff.  The “True Cost Turnover Calculator” acts as a starting point, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Staff Satisfaction Survey and Staff Competency Assessment tools have been simplified by the Engage with team for ease of access and use. Engage with staff are available to help Administrators navigate these valuable CMS resources that identify and address areas needing improvement.

“Our mission is to improve the lives of older adults and those who support them,” said Stephen B. Goldberg, MD, the Engage with Skills Training Program’s Medical Director, and creator of the Engage with concept.  “I believe that the eldercare workforce shortage is a growing crisis that can be overwhelming for administrators of long-term care facilities.  The Engage with Skills Training team has responded to this need by developing a one of kind, free resource for facility administrators.  Our innovative 3-Step Workforce Shortage Toolkit allows administrators to measure the true cost of turnover at their facility, gain valuable information about their staff by utilizing our enhanced version of the CMS staff satisfaction survey, and the CMS competency assessment tools.  After all, you cannot manage what you cannot measure.”

About Engage with® Skills Training Programs
Engage with® Skills Training Programs is a nonprofit organization on a mission to help enrich the lives of older adults and those who support them by improving continuity of care. One of the ways that they accomplish this is through providing skills training to frontline and direct care providers and others who care for and engage with older adults throughout all phases of the aging process.

Engage with® Skills Training Programs are virtual, live, interactive, skills-based trainings led in real time by a licensed mental health professional. The Programs use an innovative gamification approach in a virtual environment to teach practical skills to both professionals and lay people.  The skills training has a behavioral health focus and cover topics such as mental health conditions, substance use and medication misuse, neurocognitive disorders, traumatic brain injury (TBI), aggression and de-escalation, as well as suicide risk identification. Participants enhance their ability to support older adults, reduce resistance to care, and develop a pragmatic approach to positively impact even the most challenging interpersonal dynamics. To learn more, please visit:  www.engagewith.org. Or contact Bryan Gibb, bgibb@engagewith.org – 443-921-2972.

About the Mental Health Association of Maryland
The Mental Health Association of Maryland (MHAMD) is over 100 years old and is Maryland’s only volunteer, nonprofit organization that brings together consumers, families, professionals, advocates, and concerned citizens for unified action in all aspects of mental health and mental illness. MHAMD envisions a just, humane, and healthy society in which all people are accorded respect, dignity and the opportunity to achieve their full potential free from stigma and prejudice. Engage with® Skills Training Programs are an initiative of MHAMD.  To learn more, please visit:  www.mhamd.org.

LUTHERVILLE, MD — In response to the growing need for skills training for caregivers providing in home care and those helping their loved ones age in place, Engage with® Skills Training Programs, a national non-profit initiative of the Mental Health Association of Maryland, has converted it’s evidence-based Engage with Older Adults Skills Training Program to an “at home” training curriculum that can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection and a device with a keyboard capable of streaming video.  The 4-hour skills training is divided into two 2-hour training sessions and the interface is designed to be easily navigated by anyone with even the most basic computer skills.

The Engage with® Older Adults at home Skills training reduces caregiver stress and caregiver burnout by providing individual family members, friends, and professional caregivers the opportunity to develop and refine the skills necessary to care for and effectively support elderly parents and older adults aging in place. The skills taught in this live, instructor led, virtual training were previously only available to those working in long-term care facilities. The evidenced-based skills training has been converted for the at home user who can now learn skills to enhance their ability to provide support and care for the older adult aging in place, reduce resistance to care, and develop a pragmatic approach to positively impact even the most challenging interpersonal dynamics.

The virtual skills training is taught in real time by a licensed mental health professional.  The practical and interactive training focuses on topics such as demonstrating respect, reducing the impact of stigma, effective communication, engaging in meaningful ways, identifying suicide risk factors, and de-escalation.

“Our mission is to improve the lives of older adults and those who support them,” said Stephen B. Goldberg, MD, Engage with Skills Training Program’s Medical Director, and developer of the Engage with concept.  “I believe that the elder care workforce shortage is a growing crisis that will affect us all.  We must find ways to support the growing population of older adults.  I believe our team has risen to the challenge by completing the conversion of our nationally recognized skills training program ahead of schedule, at a time when it is needed the most. We have worked around the clock to ensure family members, professional in-home healthcare workers, neighbors and friends all have access to the skills training they need to support older adults aging in place at home.”

About Engage with® Skills Training Programs
Engage with® Skills Training Programs are virtual, live, interactive, skills-based trainings led in real time by a mental health professional. The Programs use an innovative gamification approach in a virtual environment to teach practical skills to both professionals and lay people.  The skills trainings have a behavioral health focus and cover topics such as mental health conditions, substance use and medication misuse, neurocognitive disorders, traumatic brain injury (TBI), aggression and de-escalation, as well as suicide risk identification. To learn more, please visit:  Engage with Older Adults at home

About the Mental Health Association of Maryland
The Mental Health Association of Maryland (MHAMD) is over 100 years old and is Maryland’s only volunteer, nonprofit organization that brings together consumers, families, professionals, advocates, and concerned citizens for unified action in all aspects of mental health and mental illness. MHAMD envisions a just, humane, and healthy society in which all people are accorded respect, dignity and the opportunity to achieve their full potential free from stigma and prejudice. Engage with® Skills Training Programs are an initiative of MHAMD.  To learn more, please visit:  www.mhamd.org.

Lutherville, MD – January 15, 2021 — NextFifty Initiative awarded The Mental Health Association of Maryland a grant for Engage with™ Skills Training Programs’ Engage with Older Adults in July 2021, but due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we delayed announcement until today.  The Engage with Older Adults Skills Training module supports older adults nationwide by offering innovative virtual trainings designed to develop special competencies for those who work with, support and care for older adults. Through practical, engaging, and skills-based trainings, partners in care learn practical skills to support older adults to beempowered and maxamize their potential. The Colorado-based foundation’s support will allow the Engage with Skills Training Programs to grow its effort to support those fifty and older.

“We are thrilled and honored that our Engage with™ Older Adults training for long term care staff has received this grant from NextFifty Initiative,” said Dr. Stephen Goldberg, Medical Director of the Engage with Skills Training Programs. “With the foundation’s support we expand our reach and can now build a culture of empathy and support that positively impactsolder adults living in long term care communities or aging in place at home in Colorado. It’s a tremendous endorsement to have this backing from funders so aligned with our mission.”

“Our goal is to transform the way we view and experience aging, and that informs the types of unique ideas and programs we fund,” said Diana McFail, President and CEO of NextFifty Initiative. “We see The Mental Health Association of Maryland’s work on aging issues and experiences as an embodiment of our efforts toward more positive and enlightened approaches to aging. We offer our support and congratulations.”

-END-

About the Mental Health Association’s Engage with™ Skills Training Programs

Engage with™ Skills Trainings are highly interactive, comprehensive skills-based trainings. Our programs help participants develop the skills and understanding necessary to engage in healthy relationships. The Programs use an innovative gamification approach in a virutal environment and cover topics such as behavioral health conditions, substance use and medication misuse, neurocognitive disorders, traumatic brain injury (TBI), de-escalation, and suicide risk identification. To learn more, please visit: https://www.engagewith.org/

About NextFifty Initiative

NextFifty Initiative is a Colorado-based private foundation. The organization exists to create brighter, longer and healthier futures that unlock the potential of communities through an advanced funding approach. Through this work, communities are positioned to fully benefit from the wisdom and diverse experiences of a thriving aging population. Our approach applies a multitude of lenses in funding high-yield aging solutions that benefit people age 50 and older. NextFifty Initiative focuses on funding designed to support concepts, projects and innovations that will benefit generations for years to come. To learn more, please visit next50initiative.org.