📰 Guinn Center Report: Helping Hands: An Assessment of the Personal Care Aide Workforce in Nevada

拉斯维加斯,内华达州.  -内华达州的家庭护理人员呼吁人们关注一个 Guinn Center周二发布的报告 showing the alarming home care crisis and workforce shortage in the state, which is affecting seniors and 残疾人 who rely on home care services, 以及提供这些服务的工人.

Nevada currently has approximately 13,000 home care workers, but demand is growing rapidly. 到2026年，该州将需要增加5300名工人. 平均时薪为11美元.缺乏基本福利，比如负担得起的医疗保健, 带薪病假和培训, 内华达州吸引工人的难度越来越大. 

“家庭护理的需求正在飞涨, but the current system is not meeting the needs of seniors or workers. 他们正在努力寻找可靠的, 护理质量, and we can’t even care for our own families because wages are too low and we get no 好处, 病假，甚至像个人防护装备这样的基本保护措施”, 说Rozetta爱, 54, who has worked as a home care provider in Las Vegas for 10 years. 

多年来, 内华达州的家庭护理人员一直在寻找方法来修复该州破碎的家庭护理系统:要求提高工资, 基本福利，如负担得起的医疗保健, 病假和更好的培训. 总部位于内华达州的两党研究中心的这份报告显示了这场危机的紧迫性——在COVID-19大流行期间，这场危机变得更加严重——以及内华达州民选领导人必须采取行动，与工人和家庭护理机构坐在一起，解决这些问题. 

“We are out here as caregivers every day by ourselves expected to provide the best care, but no one is making sure we have the training and tools we need to deliver 护理质量. There is something wrong with a state-funded system that can’t provide the needed 设备, supplies and training to protect us and the thousands of Nevadans who rely on us every day,克里斯蒂娜·马尔多纳多说, 51, 做了10年的家庭护工. 

COVID-19大流行还暴露了家庭护理人员每天面临的严重缺乏保护的问题，从缺乏个人防护设备到病假. 

“提供安全, high 护理质量 is my top priority every day — not just during public health emergencies. 我的客户依靠我来满足他们最基本的需求, 但我们经常面临一个非常艰难的选择:带着病去上班，让我们脆弱的客户面临风险——或者请一天假，不领工资,基斯米特·埃文斯说, who is 59 and  has been providing home care services in Las Vegas since 2016

该报告强调，误导性的政治决策对老年人和员工产生了毁灭性的影响. 将医疗补助家庭护理报销率削减到17年来的最低水平，会迫使家庭护理提供者离开，并将老年人推向高成本的养老院, 这会让州政府花费更多的钱吗. “医疗补助计划报销率的最新削减意味着内华达州的消费者将更难找到他们需要的家庭护理服务,布莱恩·谢泼德说, SEIU的参谋长，当地1107. “我们一再听到消费者和他们的家庭说，他们更喜欢在家护理，而不是去养老院. With nursing homes stretched to the limit and a major source of concern due to COVID outbreaks, 为什么政府要让消费者更难得到他们需要的家庭护理，让工人更难以留在这个行业? In a budget and public health crisis, pushing people into high cost nursing homes makes no sense.” 

工作人员希望这份报告将向内华达州领导人展示解决家庭护理系统中可怕情况的迫切需要. 认识到这些护理人员的辛勤工作和坚持为老年人和残疾人提供优质护理而大声疾呼只是第一步. That’s why the Clark County Board of Commissioners will proclaim Friday, 9月4日, 2020年为家庭护理日. 

“自从COVID-19出现以来, 每当我打开电视时，总会有人提醒我，我们所做的工作没有得到认可，就像其他医疗保健和一线工作人员得到认可的方式一样. That’s why I hope beat365亚洲官方网站 Care Day will be the first step to recognize and value our hard work. 我们应该得到一份可以维持生活的工资, 保护和培训，这样我们才能继续为内华达州的老年人和残疾人提供高质量的护理,特雷西·理查兹说, 41, 在拉斯维加斯做了15年的家庭护工.  

在 报告的 主要结论:  

• 内华达州的家庭医疗保健面临着日益严重的危机. After two decades of conservative Republicans in Carson City opposing Medicaid, cutting funding for care and neglecting the needs of our most vulnerable citizens and lowest paid workers, 内华达州面临着满足未来需求的危机:该州对家庭护理的投资不足，将导致更昂贵的替代品，如养老院. 这是大多数消费者所不希望看到的，它将给加州本已不堪重负的预算带来更大的压力. Nevada’s new political leaders must step in soon to turn things around.   

• 内华达州的看护人工作太辛苦，却得到的太少. 平均时薪为11美元.内华达州家庭护理人员每小时的工作成本为07美元，低于全国平均水平，远低于大拉斯维加斯地区的实际工作成本. 以跟上实际成本, home care workers would need to work more than 56 hours per week or earn at least $15.每小时58. Agencies schedule workers for too few hours and most workers receive no healthcare or other 好处. 在内华达州，近五分之一的护理人员没有医疗保险，近三分之一的人自己靠医疗补助计划(Medicaid)生活. 

• 家庭护理经费创17年来新低. At a time when more Nevadans need home health care services in the midst of a pandemic and major recession, the state Medicaid reimbursement rate for home care has been cut to its lowest point in 17 years. 这意味着成千上万的消费者很难找到在家中提供个人护理服务的看护者. 新降的费率为16美元.52 per hour is the lowest Medicaid rate for personal care services in Nevada since 2003. If the home care rate had merely kept pace with inflation, it would be at nearly $23.现在是每小时81小时. 如此低的医疗补助比率也导致了全美最大的家庭护理提供商之一Addus home care离开内华达州. 

• Training and safety standards are not consistently enforced. Without consistent enforcement of training and safety standards, home care agencies in Nevada can cut corners and find ways to avoid regulation and oversight. 在冠状病毒大流行期间，这可能会导致工人和消费者面临特别危险的情况. Many Nevada home care workers are forced to pay out of their own pockets for supplies, 设备, registration and training and are not receiving the training they need on a timely basis. Agencies are not required to provide personal protective 设备 (PPE) for workers. Workers cannot easily be tested for COVID-19 and do not receive paid time off. 事实上, workers interviewed in Guinn Center focus groups described the annual training as “useless”, 据报道年复一年都在看同样的视频, and every participant said they paid $45 annually out of pocket for the training.   

• 内华达州护理人员严重短缺. 自2010年以来, 内华达州家庭护理人员的数量几乎增加了两倍，但护理人员仍然严重短缺. Nevada is one of the fastest growing states in the nation with a rapidly growing number of retirees. 低工资和很少的福利鼓励新工人加入这个领域和目前的中年家庭护理工作者人口, 如果该州领导人不尽快采取果断行动，内华达州可能在未来几年面临家庭护理服务的严重短缺.

注意: 如果你对与工人的额外面试感兴趣, 请联系爱德华韦伯斯特或豪尔赫查维斯.