Alliance aims for more money for nursing home workers
This is an issue that is very, very important to me. When I'm not at my day job, I take care of my mother-in-law who had a terrible stroke almost three years ago. Her care requires intense 24/7 dedicated time from her son, who moved in with her. We had her at a nursing home for three months. What an eye opener for me.
Statewide, 13,000 nursing home workers earn less than $10 an hour, Jimenez said. Some 1,100 of them are in Spokane County. The alliance’s proposal calls for up to a $2-an-hour wage increase or healthcare benefits, she said.
Residents are only allowed by the state to get three hours committed one-on-one time from an aid or nurse. It is pathetic! The aids are paid miserably (or miserly) for back-breaking work. They lift, carry, turn, clean, change, dress, empty urine bags, change colostomy bags, change bedding, give baths, feed our beloved parents and grandparents for a paltry sum which does not include hugging, listening, encouraging, petting and all the salient, vital emotional needs. For $10 an hour!
I know how burdensome this is because it is what I live when I’m not at my day job. Nursing home employees are NOT paid nearly their worth. And we, as children who place our parents in nursing homes, cannot expect quality “caring” of Mom and Dad. That $10 doesn’t give them the tender loving care they would thrive on and survive on.
My humble thoughts.
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