Home care agencies are vital in the care economy, providing essential services, employing workers, and informing government policies and industry practices. However, many operate on tight margins, and face intensified scrutiny as home care jobs remain low-quality nationwide.

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza talks to Kevin Smith, CEO of Best in Care, Inc. They discuss how home care agencies should operate in today’s environment, what it means to provide good jobs, and how to optimize government and businesses to improve home care. 

This podcast was produced in partnership with MODRY MEDIA.

Direct care workers employed in palliative and hospice care play a critical role in supporting individuals with serious illnesses—a sensitive and crucial stage in life. Yet the general lack of good jobs in direct care means that workers don’t stay in this job sector for long.

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza talks to Brynn Bowman, CEO of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, about the workforce needs in palliative and hospice care, why good jobs will improve this care, and how government and industry leaders should intervene.

This podcast was produced in partnership with MODRY MEDIA.

Not enough people know about consumer direction, a policy approach allowing Medicaid recipients to pay family members to provide them with in-home care. Consumer-directed beneficiaries, or "independent providers," are growing in numbers, but not quickly enough.

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza speaks with Corrine Eldridge, President and CEO of the Center for Caregiver Advancement. They discuss what consumer direction offers, why independent providers need more government attention, and how to boost this aspect of long-term care. 

This podcast was produced in partnership with MODRY MEDIA.

Nursing assistants are the eyes and ears of nursing homes, where many people receive 24-hour skilled care when they can no longer support themselves. As the COVID-19 pandemic tragically reinforced, our society has neglected nursing homes and nursing assistants for decades. 

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza speaks with Dr. Kezia Scales, Vice President of Research and Evaluation at PHI. They discuss nursing assistants' responsibilities and pressures, how quality care and jobs are linked, and transformative solutions. 

This podcast was produced in partnership with MODRY MEDIA.

Direct support professionals are vital to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), as well as their families. While these workers provide critical support, our country has a long way to go in ensuring they are respected and fully recognized.

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza speaks with Joseph Macbeth, CEO and President of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, about the purpose of direct support professionals, how to strengthen these jobs, and where government should focus its efforts. 

This podcast was produced in partnership with MODRY MEDIA.

Home care workers are a lifeline to millions of older adults and people with disabilities, ensuring they live safely in their homes. However, these workers struggle in substandard jobs, often exiting this field frustrated in search of better jobs and leaving critical jobs unfilled.

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza speaks with Helen Adeosun, CEO and Founder of CareAcademy. They discuss the needs of home care workers, how businesses can support this workforce to succeed on the job and beyond, and how to imagine a better future. 

This podcast was produced in partnership with MODRY MEDIA.

To stay emotionally and financially afloat, many parents rely on childcare workers. Unfortunately, most working families cannot cover the high costs of childcare. And because this workforce is undervalued, the chances of finding an affordable childcare worker are slim. 

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza talks to Julie Kashen, Director of Women's Economic Justice and a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation. They discuss the landscape of childcare workers, where policy has failed them, and how our society should invest in these workers. 

This podcast was produced in partnership with MODRY MEDIA.

Direct care and childcare workers are the backbone of support for millions of older adults, people with disabilities, and young children, as well as their families. Despite their vital contributions, these essential workers are often undervalued, leading to unsustainable turnover rates. Without prompt intervention, the current challenges in care could quickly spiral into a major crisis.

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza speaks with Josephine Kalipeni, a longtime advocate for care workers and a leader in advocacy related to care, the workforce, and families. They discuss the centrality of care workers to our economy, why these jobs suffer in quality, and how to make a profound difference for care workers and those they support. 

This podcast was produced in partnership with MODRY MEDIA.

This podcast is produced by Robert Espinoza in partnership with Modry Media. 

Death and dying are difficult subjects for most of us. Yet how our country deals with these issues might inadvertently hurt how health professionals approach end-of-life care and serious illness, all of which incurs a significant cost. 

In this episode, host Robert Espinoza speaks with Dr. Joseph Shega, Chief Medical Officer at VITAS Healthcare and Co-Managing Editor of Essential Practices in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  They touch on  our country’s relationship with death and dying and how a different approach to these topics would improve the end of life for millions of Americans. 

This podcast is produced by Robert Espinoza in partnership with Modry Media. 

For more information about this show, visit aquestionofcare.us.