Colorado Project Provides Cultural Competency Training, Materials for Health Providers
Task Force Educates Boston-Area Agency Staff About LGBT Issues and Rights
Project Visibility is a three-hour training program for administrators and staff at nursing homes, home care agencies, assisted living facilities, and other providers of direct services to LGBT elders. The training is usually done on site and includes a presentation, a manual, and a 20-minute film that documents the lives of LGBT elders. Although Project Visibility is a program of the Boulder County Aging Services Division, funding for its $25,000 budget and parttime staff person comes almost exclusively from individual and foundation donations. Project Visibility materials have reached thousands of employees of long-term care providers across the country.
The LGBT Aging Project’s Open Door Task Force (ODTF) educates Boston-area provider staff, including staff at senior centers and AAAs, via multiple engagements to help reinforce training from one session to the next. ODTF staff members are explicit that they are not trying to change anyone’s beliefs or moral convictions regarding LGBT issues and rights. The message is that health professionals do not have to agree with the political positions of LGBT advocates, but they do have a professional duty to treat all patients with dignity, respect and competency. One of the program’s primary messages is that LGBT elders have likely had negative experiences with health care institutions over the course of their lives. As a result, even if a facility appears welcoming, there may still be a hurdle of distrust. Many LGBT elders stay in the closet rather than voicing concerns and needs—and even remain silent when experiencing abuse at the hands of other patients or staff.
In a recent program evaluation, 79% of 106 respondents said the training increased their awareness of the issues faced by LGBT elders; 83% said they better understand LGBT elders’ fears; and 50% said they are more likely to consider that residents might be LGBT. The evaluation also found that 86% of participants no longer make assumptions about an elder’s marital status or life experiences, and 57% ask older adults whom they consider to be their family.
ODTF requires that each participating institution establish an internal taskforce on LGBT competency, thus facilitating institutional memory of the trainings and giving staff a place to go with questions, comments or concerns about the training.
New York Promotes Cultural Competency Training for Aging Services Providers The City of New York Department for the Aged (DFTA) issued an announcement in 2005 to its aging services network that LGBT issues must be taken into consideration in serving older adults. Since that announcement, DFTA’s Requests for Application (RFAs) have included LGBT language. Further, the RFAs include a “point system,” by which applications are measured for funding consideration. Points are awarded for LGBT cultural competency training, which improves the likelihood of the applicant being successful. DFTA also offers free trainings to all recipients of agency funding, and works closely with SAGE to ensure its cultural competency trainings always include LGBT components. 61