long-term care workers

Barring Immigrant Care Workers Punishes Frail Seniors And Their Families

Congress is debating whether to impose new restrictions on immigration as the price of a deal to provide new aid to Ukraine and Israel. But some of the biggest victims of this misguided policy will be frail older adults, younger people living with disabilities, and their families. For their sakes, Congress should make immigration easier, not harder, for the nurses [...]

By |2024-01-03T09:42:20-05:00January 3rd, 2024|long-term care workers|0 Comments

Staff Shortages Are Hammering Long-term Care Facilities, Home Care Agencies, and Families

The shortage of staff in long-term facilities and home care agencies has gone from a problem to a crisis. Three rural nursing homes in Maine close because they cannot hire enough staff to maintain care for patients and residents. A nursing home in Oklahoma shuts its doors due to a staff shortages. Same in Kansas. A new industry survey reports [...]

By |2021-09-22T14:28:34-04:00September 22nd, 2021|long-term care workers, Uncategorized|1 Comment

It Is Time To Mandate Covid-19 Vaccines In Long-Term Care Facilities

It is time to change the rules: If you want to work around vulnerable older adults. You must be vaccinated. For their safety. For yours. And for the safety of your own family. Eight months after the vaccine was made widely available to health care workers, only about 60 percent of nursing home staff has been vaccinated against COVID-19. We [...]

By |2021-08-12T10:44:17-04:00August 12th, 2021|long-term care workers|0 Comments

A Shortage Of Paid Caregivers Is Raising The Cost Of Home Care

The growing shortage of paid caregivers has become increasingly apparent over the past several months.  Now, we are seeing evidence of the most direct consequence of that scarcity: The cost of care, especially for those living at home, is rising faster than it has in years. According to the newly released Genworth cost of care survey, the cost of homemaking [...]

By |2019-10-18T13:38:07-04:00October 18th, 2019|long-term care workers|10 Comments

How Frail Elders Will Pay For Trump’s New Anti-Immigrant Rules

The Trump Administration has adopted tough new rules aimed at barring low-wage workers from coming to the US.  Direct care workers such as personal care aides, home health aides, and certified nursing assistants will be among the biggest victims. But so will frail elders and younger people with disabilities, who will find it even more difficult to get the help [...]

By |2019-08-12T15:16:18-04:00August 12th, 2019|long-term care workers|0 Comments

There Are Not Enough Personal Care Aides To Care For Frail Seniors. What Will We Do?

The long-predicted shortage of personal care aides is here. And it is creating enormous challenges for frail older adults and people with disabilities living at home as well as for operators and residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. This shortage inevitably will drive up costs for services that already are unaffordable for many consumers. They will increase financial [...]

By |2018-12-06T11:18:31-05:00December 6th, 2018|long-term care workers|1 Comment

How Trump’s Immigration Curbs Hurt Frail Elders, Young  People With Disabilities, And Their Families

The Trump Administration’s increasingly tough crackdown on immigrants threatens to worsen an already severe shortage of aides who care for frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. The shortage of direct care workers will affect those living at home as well as those receiving residential care. The problem already is squeezing nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well [...]

By |2018-05-09T11:12:44-04:00May 10th, 2018|long-term care workers|3 Comments

Home Care Workers Are Going To Be Paid More, But Where Will the Money Come From?

Many home health aides and other direct care workers are going to get raises. An important court decision on Friday, an aggressive lobbying campaign by unions, more generous state minimum wage laws, and—perhaps most important of all—growing demand for paid home care by consumers—will inevitably drive up wages for these aides. The question is: How will older adults, younger people [...]

By |2015-08-24T13:43:47-04:00August 24th, 2015|long-term care workers|1 Comment

What the Battle Over Home Health Care Worker Pay Is Really About

Should the aides who provide home care for frail elders and younger people with disabilities receive a living wage and decent benefits? If they do, how can families, who often are unable to afford care today, be expected to pay those higher wages and benefits? Should the market be allowed to set these prices, or should government intervene through minimum [...]

By |2015-03-18T16:34:20-04:00March 18th, 2015|aging in place, long-term care workers|1 Comment

We All Want To Live At Home In Old Age, But Know Nothing About the Quality of Care We’ll Get There

The other day, I wrote about a troubling report on the high likelihood of falls or medication errors in skilled nursing facilities. The problem is real and serious, but at least we can measure it-- which is a first step towards fixing it. In contrast, there is home care. More than eight of every 10 people who need long-term supports [...]