As seniors age, more and more of them are seeking care at home. Sometimes the needs of those seeking care are very high, which takes a toll on home health workers who are often unpaid for a significant part of their shift.
2 Really important issues to address:
1. How to increase the number of experienced caregivers available to individuals who need them
2. How to pay the caregivers fair wages and provide accurate case oversight
When searching for care, it is important to ask yourself where the bulk of the “hourly/daily” fee is going. If the agency is receiving more than 20%, it is highly likely that the worker is being underpaid. Agencies regularly charge $25 and up per hour for a home health aide. They pay the aide $10 per hour (or similar) and keep $10-$15 for agency fees. The caregiver receiving $10 per hour also has taxes taken from this amount and is often asked to not report all hours worked. It takes an understanding of how difficult the job of caregiving is, valuing that work and managing the relationship with the caregiver themselves to solve this problem.
This recent article from Blumberg News shows the alarming trend toward lack of care for those who need it and a disgraceful disregard for the livelihoods of the caregivers and needs of families for affordable care.
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