I worked as the Social Services Director at a nursing home about 20 years ago. This was my first exposure to nursing homes and it was horribly wye opening. CNAs ran around like chickens w their heads cut off trying to take care of all their residents. They dealt w all the awful stuff (adult diapers, bathing, cleaning up feces, etc.) while being screamed at, spit on, sexually harassed, and even being physically assaulted. These medical professionals gave everything they had to take care of their residents while constantly being understaffed. And, to top it off, they did all that for about $10/hr.
Unfortunately, we had to move my dad into a memory care unit. It's similar to a nursing home, but slightly different vibe. I was very impressed by the staff that were there, and I felt confident he would be cared for adequately.
I filled out the admission paperwork in the attached nursing home. I shared how lucky I felt that he was able to get into memory care because it can be a notoriously long wait. The admissions person said that they've had to shut down 3/4 of their facility because “no one wants to work anymore”.
I was livid. I knew exactly what the staff went thru, how poorly they were paid, and how impossible it is to have a fully staffed shift. These people are heroes, but they still need to eat and pay rent. Rent has doubled in my area the past few years, and no one can accept those wages anymore. And now seniors were waiting for beds that would never be available because the nursing home wasn't paying a living wage.
Of course, it gets even more complicated than that because many residents have Medicaid. So, if the state doesn't increase their reimbursement rates to the nursing home, the nursing home can't increase their wages. Increasing reimbursement from Medicaid means increased taxes. And I live in a very poor state.
“No one wants to work” is wrong. We're tired of being exploited.