Holidays and new beginnings

It’s that time of year – the holidays are charging right at us, ready or not.

For me fall, racing headlong into the holidays, seems to blend seamlessly into the wrap up of yet another year. In about one week, it seems, we go from setting our clocks back to raking leaves to decorating (and then all too quickly un-decorating) the house for the holidays.

About the only thing that keeps me grounded this time of year is the knowledge that we’re about to turn a page to a new year. It’s that “clean slate” feeling of starting a new year off fresh, with new opportunities, new challenges, new adventures.

In our office we’ve started the New Year just a little early with the launch of our newest division, a private career school, duly licensed by the Oregon Department of Education with the specific purpose of providing training to individuals looking to enter the field of caring for others. The Institute for Professional Care Education (www.IPCed.com) is the official site for this training, and we’re excited about how quickly this is already taking off.

We’re training people who need to become certified Personal Care Aides to care for a loved one and get insurance reimbursement for the care.

We’re collaborating with a number of partners to offer an enhanced Personal Care Aide (PCA) certification complete with skills training and clinical work experience.

We’re hearing from employers who want to hire these folks, too, as quickly as they are trained.

We’re also working on a new project based out of New York for family caregivers, a huge and growing population of Americans that have unique needs all their own.

New Year; new adventures. It’s my trick to get through the holidays. This week, I’ve got 20 coming to my house for Thanksgiving dinner; I’ll need all the tricks I can get!


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends this week! – Sharon Brothers