Marion Karpinski, RN, graduated from a Milwaukee, Wis., nursing school in 1970. About 10 years ago, she created Healing Arts Communications, a company based in Medford, Ore., that produces educational resources for organizations that support and train family and professional care providers. Ruth Handler, creator of Mattel, said, "Find a need and fill it," and that's exactly what Marion Karpinski, RN, did: She has not only found a need, but has enriched incalculable lives.
Q. How did you find the need in your community?Several years after graduation from nursing school, I began working in a new field, home IV therapy. Family caregivers needed to learn more technical skills such as dressing changes, irrigating central lines, and accessing portacaths. I found myself writing these procedures in a language [the caregivers] could understand. Later, [after I had become the patient care coordinator for a home health agency, I would go to the hospital and] hear the families express their panic: "What do you mean I have to take him home today!? He is still so sick."
On a Saturday morning in 1994, my neighbor called to ask if I could help him administer morphine to his wife, who had terminal cancer. After I showed him how to give the morphine, he asked if I could show him how to move her onto her right side. I guided him through the procedure, and he, her sister, and [her] mother were grateful because now they knew how to make her comfortable. That was when I realized that the skills I took for granted were major challenges for families.
Q. After you identified the need, how did you proceed?My husband, Mike, had film-making experience and helped with the film production. The first film was "How to Care for Someone on Bed Rest." When I had finished, I brought it to work and showed it to my director. He was not impressed because he felt that the agency provided home care, so why teach families? He was not aware that approximately 90% of all home care is provided by family and friends. Less than 14% is provided by professionals.
I knew people needed my help, but the dilemma was to find a way to market the video. I began by calling hospice and home health agencies. They started using the videos for in-servicing aids, as they showed care in a home setting.
Q. Has everything been a challenge or did you find special help along the way?In 2000, President Clinton signed the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which was part of the Older Americans Act. This was the first time that the federal government officially recognized the family caregiver as the backbone of our long-term care system. This recognition helped us because we had been promoting the need to help family caregivers to home care and government agencies for five years.
Q. Where did you get your ideas?Ideas are everywhere. I've made 16 films so far. One day I noticed a person having trouble trying to assist someone out of a car and into a wheelchair. I realized they both could get injured. I made a film, "How to Help Someone Who Uses a Wheelchair Without Hurting Yourself." I went on to make other films as I saw a need, and have made films on medications, fall prevention, elder abuse, cultural competence, taking care of the patient with Alzheimer's, and other subjects. I also wrote a book on caregiving training, Quick Tips for Caregivers.
Our educational resources are used to train both family caregivers and the paraprofessionals who provide care in the home and assisted living facilities. I've developed an 18-hour training program for family caregivers and a 40-hour Personal Care Attendant Training Program for paraprofessionals. Agencies and organizations use our curricula to train in their communities. There is great national attention to the nursing shortage, but the growing shortage of personal care attendants and their need for training is just as critical.
Now thousands of organizations use our educational resources. It's been really rewarding to know that we are helping tens of thousands of caregivers. In the process, we've received some wonderful recognition - four-star reviews from the National Alliance for Caregiving and commendation from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and others. In 2005, the American Society on Aging recognized us for our work in "providing exemplary programs and services that meet the needs of the aging population."
In November 2005, I was invited to travel to China as part of a People to People Ambassador Program delegation on aging. We visited hospitals, senior housing, and social welfare homes in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guiyang, engaging in a professional exchange about aging and health care.
Q. What do you see for the future?Because of the increase in the aging population, the shortage of care providers will become even more severe in the coming years. We want to make caregiver education available to everyone who needs it.
Article published in Nursing Spectrum Magazine. Written by Kaye Loraine, RN, BSN, LNC, DNS, a freelance writer in Bend, Ore. To comment on this story, send e-mail to editormtw@nurseweek.com.
Interviews with Marion Karpinski are welcome. Contact Marion Karpinski, President, Medifecta Healthcare Training, 1911 United Way Medford, Oregon 97504 Ph: 888-846-7008
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