Overworked, Underpaid, and Cutting Corners: The Crisis in Home Health Care
Employees of LHC Group describe a business model that prioritized profits and compromised patient care. Soon they reached a breaking point: “It just didn’t make me feel right, doing what I did.”
Illustration by Deena So Oteh
A few years ago, Stella started working as a nursing assistant at Almost Family in Chilton, Wisconsin. She liked the job at first the hours were flexible, and she had a good connection with her patients. She would spend a few hours at each of her patients’ homes, cleaning up and helping them get dressed or take baths.
Roughly 1 2 million essential workers in Va don t have paid sick leave in a public health crisis That could soon change roanoke.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from roanoke.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Low wages, long hours contribute to a critical shortage of health care s unsung heroes
Anna Clark
Nic Antaya for Crain s Detroit Business
Dodie Torzewski, manager of a Samaritas group home in Monroe, said her six-person staff have been working mandatory overtime for the past two months amid a shortage in caregivers for four disabled women. “It’s never been this bad before,” Torzewski said. “For some people, they don’t realize how hard (the work) is.”
MORE IN CRAIN S FORUM
This month’s Crain’s Forum dives into the fragile state of the direct care industry, the disjointed payment system and some of the issues policymakers could consider to address a growing need.