Despite growing demand for long-term care, the industry struggles with labor shortages, and experts worry about whether there will be enough workers in the future to care for America’s aging population.

The hardest part of Culix Wibonele’s first job in long-term care was not getting injured.

Originally from Kenya, Wibonele worked as a certified nursing assistant in Atlanta in 2014. She went to the homes of mostly older clients, helping them with everything from bathing to cooking. Wibonele worked alone and sometimes had to lift clients much bigger than her.

It was demanding work and paid only $9 per hour with no benefits. If not for Wibonele’s second job as a babysitter and her husband’s income, they would not have made ends meet while supporting their four children.

“My paycheck, you know, was literally just nothing,” Wibonele said. “I was kind of shocked, like, the amount of work we (were) expected to do and the pay you get at the end.”

Wibonele’s experience reflects broader trends in the long-term care workforce. Those who tend to older adults in settings like private homes and assisted living facilities across the U.S. face low wages and risk of injury while the industry struggles with staff shortages, CNHI News and The Associated Press found as part of an examination of the state of America’s long-term care.

Meanwhile, demand for these workers is rising as the population ages. By 2030, roughly 20% of the U.S. population will be 65 or older, and that share will continue to grow, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

  • deegeese@sopuli.xyz
    111·
    6 months ago

    Says a lot that you blame the people asking for more heath care and not the bosses who refuse to pay a living wage.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      19·
      6 months ago

      and not the bosses who refuse to pay a living wage.

      Bruh money is not the problem…

      They could pay them more today, but that doesn’t solve what I was talking about about:

      Nurses

      Like I said, were half a decade into a nursing shortage, hospitals are paying out the ass, nursing homes already can’t compete, and people are still leaving the field.

      Stop being mad, and read the headline of the article you’re reading. We can’t even staff the non nurses. To pay them, these wages will likely be cut more.

      If they have to pay a competitive rate to get the nurses from hospitals, that cost gets passed on to clients or taken out of the pay of people like this article is about.

      Profits is the last bucket it will be taken out of.

      And people will be priced out of this because this is America