Many senior citizens that are struggling to care for themselves at home often hire home health care aides. The option of home care allows senior citizens to remain in their home and get the health care that they need. Recently, many home health care aides that provide home care for senior citizens fought for higher wages.
Home health aides, in many states, were working for a poverty wage. The movement to earn higher wages for home health care aides is referred to as the “Fight for $15.” The concept has raised the wage for home health aides in over five states. Many home health care aides will now earn paid sick time, along with health and retirement benefits. Prior to this, most home health care aides earned $10 per hour with no benefits. Senior citizens and their families struggled to find aides because people could not afford to live on the salary and lacked benefits.
As wages rise, the question remains: How will increased wages help senior citizens? The answer is that it likely will not help the seniors at all. Although aides will be getting a higher wage, the amount of training and knowledge they possess will remain the same. The higher wage did not come with more requirements or standards for home health care aides. The wage was raised and that was it. As of now, there is no system that has been put into place to determine the education of the caregivers. There is also no system to ensure that caregivers’ actions are being noted or overseen.
The job of home health care aides is vital. Home health care aides provide assistance with managing medications, dressing, bathing, mobility assistance, and more. Many of the tasks that they do on a daily basis could be life or death if done improperly. It is important to recognize that many men and women have a tremendous passion for caring for the elderly and higher wages could help draw passionate people into the profession and allow them to remain in the field.
States are now offering union options along with higher wages, and many believe the field will continue to improve with time. It will take time for more guidelines to be put into place to ensure the education, training, and knowledge of the home health care aides.
If you are considering hiring a home health care aide for yourself or a family member, do your research and ask people you trust for any recommendations. Talk with a physician to see if they might have a recommendation as well. Home health care aides can be a great option for many seniors, just to take your time to ensure that you hire the right person.
