A new bill could improve in-home caregiving throughout California. Assemblyman Matt Haney of San Francisco proposed AB 1672, which would allow in-home caregivers to negotiate at a State level, instead of a county level. Wendy Davenport has been the caregiver of Jovanna Martinez for the past three years. Martinez broke her hip and needs Davenport's help.
Midland Health At Home, a home health care service, is open for business. The service is a partnership between Midland Memorial Hospital and Calvert Home Health. According to its website, Midland Health At Home will care for patients by providing a wide range of services to Midlanders while keeping them in the comfort of their own home instead of expensive hospitalization or other institutional care. The services offered are not exclusively provided to seniors.
The North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. loaned $100,000 to DivineTouch Home Health Care in Worcester to support the agency in becoming a certified homecare agency by the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification. DivineTouch, founded by President and CEO Grace Sterling, who is a native of Jamaica, offers services including nursing, medication administration, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, and behavioral health management. The programming offers counseling from social workers, home care aides, and pastoral care. The organization anticipates that growth in the coming years will add 19 salaried positions and 46 wage staff to the business, according to a Thursday press release from the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.
My son Rob Stone, age 25, an artist and advocate, has disabilities and complex medical needs. Rob takes classes, plays baseball, and enjoys the occasional glass of whiskey. He lives at home, where he belongs, with the help of Medicaid’s Home and Community-Based Services. Receiving care at home allows him to stay with his family and remain part of his community. He’s part of a growing segment of our disability and aging population who wish to receive care at home. But the future for people like Rob — and their families — is jeopardized by the home care worker staffing crisis. Low pay and lack of benefits are causing many workers to leave the caregiving profession to take soulless jobs at warehouses and fast-food restaurants. Many love the caregiving profession but feel like they have no other choice because they cannot support their families with their wages. This exodus hurts the quality of care for Rob and others and puts enormous pressure on families like mine.
An estimated $265 billion worth of healthcare currently being delivered to Medicare patients in traditional medical facilities could shift to the home by 2025, according to research conducted by McKinsey & Company. The move to in-home care creates a unique opportunity for home health aides and agencies to fill the growing need for home health care in the United States-provided they take steps to manage workplace risks. "Business insurance will likely become more crucial for home health aides and agencies as demand for their services grows," says Pavel Yurkov, small business insurance expert and VP of Technology and Operations at online comparison service BizInsure.
For several years, organizations like Council on Aging that provide home and community-based long-term care services to older adults have been coping with a shortage of home health aides. These critical workers provide very personal care, enabling older adults to remain safe and independent in their homes. They also help fill in gaps in care for family caregivers who are juggling multiple responsibilities, including young families and careers. Thousands of individuals across the state are waiting to be matched with a home health aide. Here’s how this is impacting people we serve. In Butler County, an 80-year-old client has been giving herself a sponge bath because there are no agencies with staff available to meet her needs.