The concept of trading services rather than money originated with Edgar Cahn, author, activist and founder of Time Banks USA. Cahn spoke with The Examiner about what makes time banking work.
Where did the idea of a time bank program come from?
It came from lying in a hospital bed in 1980 and realizing it didn?t feel good to feel useless. Somehow I had to give back.
Then I thought of all the people we were declaring useless, whether they were unemployed or on welfare or seniors or teenagers. I thought, ?Isn?t there some way where can put people and problems together so they can make a contribution and where it can make a difference??
Are the programs accomplishing what you envisioned?
More so. In South Korea a hospital is allowing people to pay up to 50 percent with time credits helping in the hospital, and then the university there is accepting time credits for partial payment.
Elderplan in Brooklyn involved patients calling other patients reminding them about medications and keeping their appointments, and they have reduced rehospitalization by 50 percent.
What are the challenges to time banking?
It takes money to pay the coordinator. Apart from the money it?s a shift in the human services philosophy. That is the biggest challenge.
Are there some communities where time banking works better than others?
It can work any place. My sense is we are now about to test a new model [as] baby boomers age. We are going to see a huge need for informalsupport in addition to formal long-term care. When you go into the hospital, who is going to take care of your dog? Long-term care insurance isn?t going to deal with that.
