Neil Johnson, Executive Director, MN HomeCare Association

Neil Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota HomeCare Association, writes about the need to invest in our home care workforce. Read the full story

Are rising gas prices making it harder for you to deliver or receive care? Add your comments at the end of this post. 

We all feel the pinch from high gas prices, but for home care workers it’s more of a punch. As PHI President Steven Dawson puts it: “The doubling of gas prices over the past few years has been like a pay cut for many home care workers — particularly those serving clients in rural areas.

“Policy makers like to believe that home care is cheaper than nursing homes, but that’s only true because home care workers are paid less than nursing home workers, often without health benefits,” adds Dawson. “There’s not much good to say about higher gas prices, except perhaps that they will now force policy makers to look more closely at the real costs of shifting toward home-based care, and in response create realistic reimbursement policies that will offer home care workers a true livable wage and benefits.”

When PHI’s Michigan State Director Hollis Turnham wrote about the home care gas crisis in our blog in June, talking about the problems she was already hearing about, anticipating others, and asking what other people were experiencing, the response was swift and impassioned. An employer called rising gas prices “the 500 lb gorilla in the room for home care agencies.” A home care worker talked about seeing turnover increase and “looking for something closer to home myself.” The head of a home care and hospice aide recruitment agency said he planned to do “something very tangible to address this issue,” though he wasn’t ready yet to say just what. 

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“If I had only one sentence, this would be it: Direct support work is a highly skilled job,” says Amy Hewitt.

“It’s not viewed that way by society – or, frankly, by many employers – but not everybody can do this job. You have to be smart; you have to be able to problem solve; you have to be flexible and a quick thinker. You also need patience and empathy and creativity. We’re not going to get anywhere in terms of policy advocacy or getting the supports we need in place without clearly articulating that this is a highly skilled job.”

Hewitt is a senior research associate at the University of Minnesota’s Research and Training Center on Community Living. The center’s mission is to support community living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities – and that has led to a focus on strengthening and supporting the direct support workforce.

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A blog sponsored by the College of Direct Support posts stories for direct support professionals, consumers, and other members of the direct support community, inviting feedback and input.

On the same page, you’ll find a link to the CDS’s podcasts, which will include A Day in the Life of a DSP.

Currently on that page is a video about Patrick Jordan, which shows him in action while his father (pictured above with Patrick) tells his story. The Jordans are participants in a Minnesota residential program that has transformed their lives, allowing Patrick to achieve a new degree of independence.

“He’s not in a fishbowl any more,” says Patrick’s delighted father. “His needs haven’t gone away, but our ability to approach them in a more personal, more respectful fashion has made a huge difference to him.”

Elise Nakhnikian, Senior Online Editor
enakhnikian@phinational.org

Wages for home health care workers should be virtually doubled, according to Home Care for Seniors Has New Urgency, an editorial in the January 6 Minnesota Star Tribune. “They now make $7.50 to $12 an hour – on par with a McDonald’s employee – even though their skill levels suggest a $16- to $18-an-hour pay range,” writes Neil Johnson, the executive director of the Minnesota HomeCare Association. “If compensation levels don’t increase, there will be an ever-growing shortage of home care staff.”