Bethesda Rehab & Senior Care ("Bethesda" or the "Community") is a four-story skilled nursing facility located on a nearly two-acre parcel in Chicago. For over 100 years, Bethesda has had a presence in the Chicagoland area and the Community has developed an outstanding reputation for providing quality short term rehabilitation, long term skilled nursing care, respite care and Alzheimer's care to seniors throughout the greater northern Chicagoland area.
More than 80% of U.S. nursing homes reported staffing shortages in early 2023. SciLine interviewed Dr. Jasmine Travers, a gerontological nurse practitioner and assistant professor of nursing at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, and asked her how the shortage affects health care for nursing home residents, if nursing homes in poorer neighborhoods have been hit harder by the shortages, and what can be done to fix the problem.
The nursing home workers that are threatening to go on strike are represented by the union SEIU Healthcare Illinois. Four of the 11 nursing home facilities throughout the state that are set to strike are in Chicago. Four other facilities are in the surrounding area. Workers are set to go on strike as early as Labor Day, which lands on Sept. 4. Infinity nursing home workers during a news conference Thursday spoke about high turnover rates, poor building conditions, low wages and poor staffing leading to difficulty caring for residents.
Apple Rehab Chesterfields is a 60-bed facility, but the company said a lot of those beds are empty, which factored into the decision to close. In a letter sent to families, Apple said, “The decision to close comes after years of painstaking efforts to revitalize,” going on to say “Closure has become imminent.” Chesterfield’s Medicare rating is just 1-star. Specifically, Apple Rehab Chesterfields cites a decline in residents, staffing challenges, COVID-19, and losing more than half a million dollars over just the last year.
Cornerstone Caregiving opened its Wausau offices with a ribbon-cutting Thursday, located on North 3rd Street. Their services stretch within an hour radius of Wausau, and can offer a helping hand to seniors who need a certain type of care. Officials say there had been a dire need in the Wausau area for expanded care for seniors and veterans.
The demand for caregivers for senior citizens is on a long upward swing. What they get paid is not.It's a particular issue in California, where the cost of living is high, but caregiver wages do not keep up. For one example, the average pay for caregivers in Siskiyou County is $15.50 per hour: minimum wage.