Published: Friday, May 24, 2024
Wibonele, originally from Kenya worked as a certified nurse assistant in Atlanta in 2014 She visited the homes of mostly elderly clients and helped them with everything, from bathing to cooking. Wibonele often worked alone, and had to lift clients that were much larger than herself.
The job was difficult and only paid $9 an hour, with no benefits. Wibonele and her husband would have struggled to support their four children without Wibonele’s second job, as a babysitter.
Wibonele said, “My pay was nothing.” “I was shocked at how much work we were expected to do, and what the pay is.”
Wibonele’s experience is representative of broader trends within the long-term workforce. Those who care for older adults in private homes or assisted living facilities throughout the U.S. are at risk of injury and low pay, while the industry is struggling with staff shortages. This was revealed by CNHI News and The Associated Press as part of a study of the long-term care sector.
As the population grows older, so does demand for these workers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2030, approximately 20% of the U.S. populace will be 65 years old or older.
Dr. Stephen Crystal of the Rutgers Center for Health Services Research said, “It is a nationwide problem that affects everyone.” “Almost everyone is understaffed.”
Since the COVID-19 epidemic, there have been labor shortages in the industry and high turnover.
The federal data show that nursing care facilities lost employees following the outbreak of the pandemic, and that the workforce is still not fully recovered. The American Health Care Association surveyed hundreds of nursing homes in March and found that almost all had open positions with difficulty recruiting. The Biden administration’s recent directive on nursing home staffing has caused panic among facility administrators, who are already scrambling to fill vacancies.
Alice Bonner said that nursing homes have such a high turnover rate that they lose all their staff within a single year.
Bonner stated that “the people left working are doing double shifts, overtime, and working with temporary and agency workers.”
Noelle Kovaleski is the administrator at the Carbondale Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Pennsylvania. She said that the greatest challenge to hiring is a lack of qualified candidates. After posting the position on a major job site for over two years, Noelle Kovaleski’s facility was unable to fill it.
Kovaleski stated, “There are no workers coming in.” They’re not there.
Many workers pass up these jobs due to poor pay and a highly competitive labor market. Bonner stated that nurses can earn more at nursing homes than in hospitals.
As the industry grows, experts predict a potential shortage. According to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, between 2021 and 2030, there will be a 42% increase in demand for full-time employees working in long-term care and support environments. The demand for direct care workers (who make up the majority of the workforce) is expected to increase by 41% between 2021 and 2036.
Direct care workers are vital to their clients. A certified nursing assistant may bathe a dementia patient who is incontinent, or a home health aid might help an elderly widower take his medication. Or a personal caregiver might assist residents in a group home with lunch. Most of these workers are women, people of color and immigrants.
Victoria Gardner, a tetraplegic who was left unable to use her hands or stand after a car accident, views her caregiver at home as her lifeline. The caregiver assists the 57 year old Pennsylvania woman for 16 hours a day. Gardner would not be able to bathe, cook, clean or do laundry without the caregiver’s help.
“My situation right now is that I only have one caregiver. This is a fragile situation. Gardner added, “I’m not the only one in this situation.”
An AP-CNHI study of Bureau of Labor Statistics statistics found that the industry added approximately 1.5 million direct care workers from 2012 to 2022. Close to 800,000 direct care positions are expected to be added through 2032. Experts say that these jobs will be difficult to fill.
Pay is an important factor.
According to the Bureau, the average annual salary of home health and personal caregivers will be $33,380 by May 2023. The earnings of cafeteria attendants, retail sales workers and other similar jobs were comparable.
Typically, direct care workers earn at the lower end of the pay scale. A January Department of Health and Human Services’ report shows that roughly half of these workers rely on government assistance.
Experts blame funding for low wages. Medicaid is the main payer for long-term care, but many stakeholders claim that Medicaid reimbursement rates do not adequately compensate workers.
Some states have taken steps to boost the workforce. For example, they require that a certain percentage of Medicaid reimbursements be used to pay direct care workers’ wages. Other states have used funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act in order to increase wages and recruit more workers. In April, the Biden Administration finalized a rule requiring that 80% of Medicaid payments made for homecare be used to pay employees.
Zulma, a home health aide in New York City for many years, used to cry when she got off work due to the way people treated her.
She earned $6.25 per hour for many years. Clients would sometimes treat her as if she was a maid and expect her to cook meals for their entire family. When she was required to accompany her client to hospital, she often felt that the doctors and nurses were judging her.
Torres stated that “you feel like walking out a lot of the time and saying, ‘I know this isn’t for me.
Researchers claim that a lack respect, both within and outside of the industry, is another factor that drives away long-term caregivers.
Barbara Bowers is the founding director of Center for Aging Research and Education, University of Wisconsin Madison. She said, “There’s an overall view from the public that people working in long-term-care are less than.” “I do not think that they are given the respect and recognition they deserve for their hard work.”
Culix Wibonele is a certified nursing assistant who works in Atlanta. She earns $18 per hour at an assisted-living facility. She’s endured years of low pay, layoffs, and migraines after being injured by a resident who was agitated. She still feels like her pay is not enough.
Wibonele stated, “I could go to Walmart and earn more money than a CNA.”
Wibonele has said that she will stay in the business for the time being. She is also studying at Georgia State University to become a registered long-term care nurse.
“I love the older generation. Their wisdom and their stories.” Wibonele stated, “I love knowing that I’m doing something while (they) are still on this earth.” “I won’t change anything, no matter how much we aren’t paid.”
___
Kelety reported on the news from Phoenix, and Scicchitano came from Shamokin in Pennsylvania. Nicky Forster, an AP data journalist in New York, contributed.