Parker Health Group has spent nearly 120 years caring for older Americans. So perhaps it’s only fitting that it would be named a Certified Age Friendly Employer by the Age Friendly Institute, an organization dedicated to making sure older workers are valued, supported and given every opportunity to thrive.
The numbers back up why.
More than 58 percent of Parker’s full-time care partners are 50 or older. Another 44 percent of its part-time care partners fall into the same category. For the Piscataway-based nonprofit, that’s not a demographic quirk. It’s a culture.
“Parker is a place where experience is valued, knowledge is shared across generations, and people can thrive in their careers,” Jean Rebele, Parker’s chief administration and talent officer, said. “This national designation reflects the way we each live our values, how we elevate one another, and ultimately how we make a meaningful difference in the lives of the older adults we serve and their families.”
The Certified Age Friendly Employer designation (awarded by the Age Friendly Institute, a Waltham, Mass.-based nonprofit) evaluates organizations across 14 best-practice areas including culture, workforce planning, training and development, flexible arrangements, compensation and benefits. Certified employers are re-evaluated every two years.
Parker meets the Institute’s certification requirements as a large employer (more than 250 employees) in the Health and Home Services category.
“Earning the CAFE designation reflects the culture our teams have built, valuing experience, expanded opportunity and enhanced care for the people we serve,” Parker CEO Roberto Muñiz said.
Parker joins more than 250 certified employers nationwide, including New Jersey neighbors Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck.
The Age Friendly Institute notes that age-friendly practices deliver tangible business benefits — stronger applicant response, longer average tenure among experienced employees, and lower turnover — all of which help organizations preserve the institutional knowledge that takes decades to build.
For a company that has been challenging and expanding the idea of what it means to grow older in America since 1907, the certification feels less like a new direction and more like a formal acknowledgment of what Parker has always believed.
