Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Responsibilities of and recommendations for preparation of retirement home administrators

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  • Specific concern for housing and caring for the elderly has received national attention since the White House Conference on Aging held in 1961. The federal government has provided funds for studying housing needs of the elderly. One alternative is the retirement home which is defined as providing food, shelter and security for the elderly. These facilities require an administrator who understands the special needs of the aged and is .a good business manager. Gerontologists are realizing the advantages of an academic program designed to prepare people to enter the field of retirement home administration. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to identify the responsibilities and problems of and background preparation needed by administrators and to make recommendations for planning an interdisciplinary academic program in Oregon, to qualify individuals for such positions. A survey of retirement home administrators was made by questionnaire, sent to 126 administrators in HEW region X. Fifty-one or 40.5 percent were returned and usable. Data showed that facilities in the Northwest are largely under 200 units in size and the majority offer a variety of services. There is little mobility among administrators. Their educational backgrounds are very diverse but the majority have had some college preparation. The fields of preparation most often mentioned were Business Management, Human Relations and Administration. Occupational backgrounds of respondents were also varied but the majority had been business managers, sociologists and ministers, and administrators of various types. Respondents indicated that they received their greatest satisfaction from serving people. Employee-related problems and "human relations problems with the residents" seemed to cause the most frustration to the administrator. Long-range thinking and planning took up much time for the majority of respondents. Tasks that could be easily delegated appeared to be employee-centered. It appeared that a correlation might exist between the problems reported by the administrator as being most frustrating and how much time he spent and whether or not it was a delegated task. Therefore Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient was used to analyze the related data by computer. A significant positive correlation was found between the problem of obtaining and maintaining staff and time spent on staff recruitment and termination. A less significant correlation was found between getting desired production from staff and time spent on dealing with employee problems and in-service training. The relationship between human relations problems with the residents and the delegation of the task of meeting with residents and prospective residents gave a positive but small correlation. Data showed that professional preparation of retirement home administrators should be concerned with administrative skills, ability to work with and understand people, and business management. The majority of respondents were interested in providing an internship in their facilities and also in attending workshops and seminars to update their skills. On the basis of the questionnaire data, the curricular patterns of retirement home administration programs now in existence and the availability of applicable courses, recommendations were made. It is hoped that these could serve as a basis for planning an interdisciplinary academic program: 1. This program be offered at either or both the graduate or undergraduate level. 2. That courses from the three major areas reported by the respondents, Business Management, Administration, and Human Relations, be included in the curriculum. 3. The 12 hours of gerontology core courses offered through the Oregon Center for Gerontology be a required part of the academic program. 4. Basic courses in Nutrition and Institution Management be included as a required part of the academic program. 5. Related courses with an emphasis on the needs of the elderly be selected to round out the individual student's preparation. 6. A carefully planned internship be a required part of the academic program. 7. Consideration be given to making available workshops and seminars on retirement home administration on various campuses and other central locations in the Northwest.
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