Foreign workers to the rescue?
John O'Connor
It's no secret that long-term care faces a worsening staffing challenge. Nor is it terribly hard to see why.
The work, especially at the front lines, is physically and mentally difficult. Perhaps the kindest way to describe the pay is to call it, ahem, entry level. Oh, and the hours can be haphazard, and might include nights, weekends and holidays.
Small wonder that given a choice, so many people opt instead for the relative ease of working in a restaurant kitchen.
And the consequences of such job choices writ large are starting to hit providers where it hurts. In the past month, more than 1,000 skilled nursing facilities had a star deducted from their Nursing Home Compare ratings, largely thanks to inadequate staffing levels.
Three reports released last week by the The LeadingAge LTSS (long-term services and supports) Center @UMass Boston appear to offer a brilliant solution: tap into the foreign labor market with greater vigor.
The logic is hard to beat: Foreign workers tend to be far more affordable, reliable and harder working than their American counterparts. In addition, many come from cultures where eldercare is considered more of an honor than an inconvenience.
Not that the notion of bringing more foreign workers into this sector is an epiphany. By some estimates, a quarter of all certified nursing assistants working in skilled care settings were born outside the United States.
So it would appear this is an idea whose time has come. Or has it?.
For in case you haven't noticed, America is not exactly leaving the light on for foreign workers these days. Au contraire.
As this is being written, we have a President threatening to shut down the government unless funding for a border wall and more restrictive immigration policies are put in place.
It remains to be seen whether and to what extent allocations for such a wall will be approved. But it's a safer bet that entering and remaining in this country will likely be a lot more challenging once the new immigration bill is signed.
We had an unwritten rule in the O'Connor house when I was a lad: Never ask Mom for a favor when she's off the cigarettes. Need I say more?
John O'Connor is the editorial director for McKnight's.