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| The need for quality home health care continues to grow, while the profession is one of the lowest paid. |
As thousands of baby boomers turn 65 every day, the demand for home health care steadily grows. Yet home-based caregivers remain among the lowest paid workers. When caregivers don’t have a stable standard of living, they cannot provide quality care. Agencies that employ home health aides have to balance keeping costs affordable for families who pay out of pocket with attracting quality employees. Even for family caregivers, the job is physically, emotionally and financially draining.
It’s important home health care professionals earn enough to meet their daily needs and more, because it can affect us in several ways:
About 8,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day, according to the AARP. As the demand grows for personal care and home health aides to serve aging baby boomers, the industry is among the lowest paid. The median hourly wage is $9.60 and the annual pay average is $18,600, according to the U.S. Labor Department and National Employment Law Project.
Eighty-five percent of seniors want to remain in their own homes. If a loved one isn’t ready to move into an assisted living or nursing home facility, families may have to rely on independent caregivers, professional agencies, and, in some cases, respite care offered by state and nonprofit organizations.
If a caregiver quits a job to provide full-time care, it can cost that individual hundreds of thousands of dollars. Forty-three million Americans already are caring for someone over age 50, according to Andy Cohen, founder of Caring.com. And one in 10 caregivers quits a job to provide full-time care to an elderly family member, which can cost more than $300,000 in lifetime wages, Social Security and pension income, says Nell Lake, author of “The Caregivers: A Support Group’s Stories of Slow Loss, Courage, and Love.”
In addition to our helpful Caregiver Resource Library with more than 1,500 links, also see “4 Places Caregivers Can Look for Financial Assistance”, “How Caregivers Can Build Support” and “5 Signs Mom or Dad Need Help.”
Eighty-five percent of seniors want to remain in their own homes. If a loved one isn’t ready to move into an assisted living or nursing home facility, families may have to rely on independent caregivers, professional agencies, and, in some cases, respite care offered by state and nonprofit organizations.
If a caregiver quits a job to provide full-time care, it can cost that individual hundreds of thousands of dollars. Forty-three million Americans already are caring for someone over age 50, according to Andy Cohen, founder of Caring.com. And one in 10 caregivers quits a job to provide full-time care to an elderly family member, which can cost more than $300,000 in lifetime wages, Social Security and pension income, says Nell Lake, author of “The Caregivers: A Support Group’s Stories of Slow Loss, Courage, and Love.”
In addition to our helpful Caregiver Resource Library with more than 1,500 links, also see “4 Places Caregivers Can Look for Financial Assistance”, “How Caregivers Can Build Support” and “5 Signs Mom or Dad Need Help.”
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About The CareGiver Partnership. The CareGiver Partnership helps caregivers and their loved ones with answers to their caregiving questions, including information about home health care products and supplies, from our Wisconsin-based team of Product Specialists who are all current or former caregivers. The company’s Web site provides the largest online library of resources on subjects most important to caregivers — from arthritis to assisted living, and Parkinson’s to prostate cancer — as well as access to more than 3,000 home care products for incontinence, skin care, mobility, home safety and daily living aids. The CareGiver Partnership was founded in 2004 by Lynn Wilson of Neenah, Wisc. Visit http://www.caregiverpartnership.com to learn more or call 1-800-985-1353.
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