New York City-based LGBTQ+ aging cultural competency training provider SAGEC has reached a milestone: educating more than 250,000 participants through its training and credentialing program for providers in an effort to help develop positive relationships between service providers and LGBTQ+ older adults.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the milestone … and further expand our offerings in cultural competency training and credentialing,” stated Michele Giordano, executive director, SAGEVenture at SAGECare. “As champions of lifelong learning, we are committed to raising awareness and educating senior providers on how to have empathy and provide inclusivity for LGBTQ+ elders.”
SAGECare is the fee-for-service training and consulting division of LGBTQ+ elder advocacy group SAGE.
As a cohort, LGBTQ+ older adults face uncommon challenges. Many came of age when their sexuality was not openly accepted and knowledge of it could result in overt discrimination. They could lose their jobs or be arrested for coming out.
Consequently, as a 2018 survey by the AARP found, 88% of LGBTQ+ seniors surveyed indicated that they would feel more comfortable with long-term care services if they knew staff members had been specifically trained about the needs of this community. In a matched-pair test across 10 states, 48% of same-sex couples said they experienced adverse treatment when seeking senior housing, data show.
“A lot of elderly LGBTQ+ were not able to come out in their lives, so it’s about how to approach someone who might feel awkward about their sexuality or gender identification,” Always Best Care in Boulder, CO, franchise owner Inga Juzysta previously told McKnight’s.
Senior living providers Inspir and Watermark Retirement Communities are some of the companies where employees have undergone SAGECare training, but SAGECare’s outreach extends beyond providers and other healthcare organizations. For example, the regional government of Cape Cod, MA, hosted a countywide event in January with SAGECare.
