OA/R Organization Survey Results

About the Sample: : In the spring of 2004, we reviewed all entries in the Red Cross's Horry and Georgetown counties community service organizations directories, and selected facilities that appeared to exclusively or primarily serve older adults and retirees (OA/Rs; defined as people 55+ years of age who have permanently stopped their primary profession). That process produced contact information for approximately 180 agencies, businesses, and other organizations in the two county South Carolina Grand Strand region.

In October of 2002, two CCU Psychology and Sociology Department professors – Drs. Linda Palm and Joan Piroch – surveyed 32 OA/R-related community facilities they picked from the Horry county phone book, and received responses from 21. Our 180 included those same organizations and some 148 others. We received responses from some of those same facilities, and 31 additional ones, for a total sample of 52 (= a response rate of 28.9%). It’s difficult to judge whether this is a good response rate or not, but we are still missing key information on over a 100 Horry and Georgetown county OA/R-related organizations, and that calls for some follow-up to gain a more complete picture of the domain of services available to older adults and retirees in our area. Based on the number of respondents, their varied locations, sizes, and range of services, it is hypothesized that these 52 organizations are fairly representative of the population of ~180 OA/R-related service providers in Horry and Georgetown counties as of this date; thus cautious conclusions about the whole population can be inferred from these data.

About the Surveys : The Palm-Piroch survey contained ten questions: asking for contact information; what the primary purpose of the facility was; how many staff members were employed; whether staff are required to earn special credentials for employment; whether staff are offered continuing education opportunities; how many clients the facilities served; whether client qualifications were required; whether the facility would want services from the CAAR; whether the facility would want CCU interns; and whether the facility would want research to be conducted by CCU faculty and students at their facility. The CAAR survey contained 26 questions, including all those asked in the previous questionnaire and 16 more designed to obtain additional and more detailed data. Those additional questions asked for an e-mail address; whether the facility was a health services provider or not; if so whether the facility was accredited by the JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) or not; if not, whether they intended to seek JCAHO in the future; if so, when; whether fees were charged by the facility, and if so, how much; what kinds of initial credentials were required for employment; what kinds of continuing education were required; if other continuing professional development activities were offered; if so, what kind, offered by whom; what kinds of CAAR services might be wanted; what kind of intern services might be wanted; what kinds of research might be wanted; and what unmet needs the facility have. Where the same organization responded to both surveys, the newer and more detailed data were used. The responses from both surveys were collated and tallied, and produced the following results.

Initial Results: : In order, the basic results from the second CAAR survey were as follows. (NOTE: Not all organizations answered all questions, and some provided more than one answer to some questions, so division by 52 doesn't always sum to 100%.)

Q1. Name of the facility: 52 responses

Q2. Mail address: 46 responses (88.5%). From the names and addresses we determined that completed surveys were obtained from facilities in the following locations (from most to least): Myrtle Beach = 19 (41.3%); Conway = 14 (30.4%); Pawleys Island/Litchfield and Surfside Beach = 3 each; Aynor, Loris, and Murrells Inlet/Garden City = 2 each; Georgetown, Green Sea/Floyds, Longs, and North Myrtle Beach/Little River = 1 each.

Q3. Phone number: 49 responses (94.2%)

Q4. E-mail address: 20 responses (38.5%)

Q5. Contact person: 51 responses (98.1%)

Q6. Title of contact person: 28 responses (53.9%)

Q7. Primary purpose/mission of the facility: 47 responses (90.1%). Combining the data from Qs 1 & 7, we determined that the 47 respondents were divided into the following 14 types of missions (from most frequently to least frequently reported): health care services (= diagnosis & treatment of medical problems) = 20 (42.6%); Senior Center activities, psychological or other types of therapy, meals or food services, and training or education = 8 (17%) each; residential facilities and socialization activities = 6 (12.8%) each; assisted living and support groups = 4 each; exercise or fitness and trips or outings = 3 each; hospice or palliative care, emergency or respite care, and housekeeping services = 2 each; other types of services were reported by 6 organizations.

Q8. Healthcare service provider? 9 (17.3%) yes; 17 no; 26 no response (NOTE: Although only 9 facilities identified themselves as a healthcare service provider, 20 described their primary mission and services as such.)

Q9.A. JCAHO accredited? 2 (22.2%) yes; 6 no; 1 no response.
B. Plan to seek JCAHO accreditation in the future? 0 yes; 3 no; 4 no response.
C. If seeking JCAHO accreditation, when? 7 no responses

Q10. Are fees charged? If so, how much? 16 (69.6%) yes; 7 no; 29 no response. The extremely wide range of services offered was mirrored by the wide range of fees charged, which varied from free (e.g., by support groups and some Senior Centers) to over $3,000-4,000 per month (by hospices and 24 hour skilled nursing residential facilities).

Q11. How many staff members are employed by the facility? 46 (88.5%) responses, ranging from 0 (all volunteers) to 185. Based on the number of paid staff reported, we categorized the facilities by size: Very small (0-5 staffers) = 18 (39.1%); small (6-20 staffers) = 8 (17.4%); medium (21-50 staffers) = 8 (17.4%); large (51-100 staffers) = 6 (13%); very large (100+ staffers) = 6 (13%).

Q12.A. Is initial credentialing required for your staff? 34 (65.4%) yes; 12 no; 6 no response.
B. What kinds of credentials are required? 20 (38.5%) responses; 32 no responses. (NOTE: One facility may employ various professionals with different credentialing requirements.) From most to least, the 20 respondents reported: 12 employed staff who required licensure; 8 required bachelors degrees; 6 required certification; 5 required special training; 3 required a masters or higher graduate degree; and 2 required experience only.

Q13.A. Is continuing education/training of staff required for employment? 21 (40.4%) yes; 7 no; 24 no response
B. What kinds of education/training are required? 19 responses; 33 no responses. From most to least, the 19 respondents reported: training by a professional association = 10; inhouse training only = 2; external training = 1; 6 facilities specified other training.

Q14.A. Are other types of continuing professional development offered your staff? 43 (82.7%) yes; 3 no; 6 no response.
B. What kinds of development experiences are offered? 21 responses; 31 no response. From most to least, the 21 respondents reported: expert workshops/seminars = 8; professional conferences/meetings = 4; educational courses/classes = 3; other/unspecified learning experiences = 6.
C. By whom are those development experiences offered? 10 responses; 42 no response. The 10 respondents reported: professional organizations = 6; inhouse resources = 4; higher education institutions = 2. (NOTE: A facility may use more than one type of educator/trainer for different types of staff members.)

Q15. What number of clients are served each year? 46 (88.5%) responses; 6 no response, ranging from less than a dozen to thousands. Using respondents' answers to Qs 11 and 15, we determined the range of staff:client ratios: 1:1-5 = 15 (32.6%); 1:6-10 = 3 (6.5%); 1:11-20 = 6 (13%); 1:21-50 = 5 (10.9%); 1:51-100 = 6 (13%); 1:101-500 = 4 (8.7%); 1:501-3,000+ = 3 (6.5%); 4 others did not give both figures.

Q16. Does your facility require any client qualifications for services? 40 (76.9%) responses; 12 no response. Of the 40 respondents, 33 (82.5%) had client qualifications; 7 required no qualification. Of the 33 requiring client qualifications (where a facility may have more than one type of qualification): 17 had age requirements; 8 had income requirements; 6 had medical requirements; 5 had disability requirements; 2 required Medicare/Medicaid qualifications; 12 also had other qualification requirements.

Q17.A. Would your facility be interested in receiving services from the CAAR? 27 (51.9%) yes; 8 maybe; 5 no; 12 no response
B. What kinds of services would you like? 32 responses; 20 no response. From most to least, the 32 respondents reported wanting seminars or workshops on: Alzheimer's/dementia = 8; health problems/issues and caregiving strategies = 5 each; the aging process = 4; behavior management, and geriatrics = 3 each; coping strategies, grief, diabetes, cholesterol, family relations, and the latest technologies = 2 each; emotional well-being, client motivation, client programs, elder law, latest medical developments and discoveries, ethics, supervision strategies, team building, human resources, financial management, social services, exercise and fitness, generational differences = 1 each; unknown/negotiable = 4.

Q18.A. Would your facility be interested in receiving CCU interns or other field placements? 33 (63.5%) yes; 11 maybe; 3 no; 5 no response
B. What kinds of student field placements would you like? 31 responses; 4 don't know ; 17 no response. From most to least, the 31 respondents reported wanting: assisting staff with direct client services = 24; assisting supervisors = 5; playing paraprofessional roles = 4; lecturing/teaching and clerical services = 2 each; unknown or negotiable = 7. (NOTE: Some facilities gave more than one answer.)
C. How many interns per year would you like? 9 respondents provided a number, ranging from 1 - 6; 43 no responses.

Q19.A. Would you be interested in having CCU faculty or students conduct research at your facility? 16 (30.8%) yes; 10 maybe; 20 no; 6 no response
B. What kind of research would you like? From most to least, the 16 respondents reported wanting research on: evaluation of quality of services = 3; senior transportation issues = 2; surveys, disaster mitigation, poverty implications, obesity, arthritis, heart disease, resident life, aging and the law, Alzheimer's management, old-old care, safety programs for the elderly, and needed versus available services = 1 each.

Q20. What are your facility's most important unmet needs? 16 (30.8%) cited needs; 4 said "none"; 32 no response. From most to least, the 16 respondents reported most needing: better facilities, better transportation, and more volunteers = 3 each; more funding, more staff, better education and training, better public education, and expert speakers = 2 each; better equipment and finding clients eligible for services = 1 each.