Assisted Living Workforce Shrinks
The omicron variant of the coronavirus has driven record staff shortages at facilities nationwide. Some Assisted Living workers have more residents than they can handle. Their frustration surges as tens of thousands of their colleagues call out sick with covid-19, fueling the shortages that already were at crisis levels.
"Hailed as "heroes" during the early months of the pandemic, these workers, most of whom are women and people of color, say they're facing untenable levels of pressure" and "Government support has failed to end the crisis." Assisted Living advocates say, "allowing care for the elderly and the infirm to worsen, forcing facilities to limit the admission or close entirely and clogging up hospital beds."
"According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nursing home industry has lost more than 420,000 jobs since the start of the pandemic and has reduced its workforce to the size it was 15 years ago. Some of the workers who left chose to retire early rather than face the intense workload and coronavirus risks at their jobs. Others have been lured away by companies, including Amazon, that offers wages that nursing homes say they cannot compete with."
Rebecca Tan of the Washington Post reported that "Nursing home staff shortages are worsening problems at hospitals. Nursing home leaders and unions say that "even as the omicron variant retreats, the staffing crunch will persist. At community colleges, of those training to become nursing assistants, many are avoiding nursing homes, where they would earn a median annual wage of $30,120, according to federal data." Instead, facility workers are looking for jobs as travel nurses or home health aides."
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Sources:
Nursing home workers quitting in droves - San Antonio .... https://digital.olivesoftware.com/olive/odn/sanantonioexpressnews/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=SAEN%2F2022%2F01%2F23&entity=Ar02200&sk=73B411F9
Low-wage workers prop up the nursing home industry. They .... https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/low-wage-workers-prop-up-the-nursing-home-industry-they-re-quitting-in-droves/ar-AAT2EBN