Home care providers are hopeful a recent move by President Biden could open up the pipeline for available care workers.
On Monday, the president ordered the Department of Labor to refuse enhanced jobless benefits to the unemployed if they turn down suitable job offers. As part of the American Rescue Plan, the president extended a $300-per-week supplement for the unemployed due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency.
In an industry with a median hourly wage of $13, the enhanced benefits are seen as a hindrance to hiring.
“We’re pleased to see this directive come out of the Biden administration because so many of our members are turning away business every day because they don’t have workers to provide the care,” Home Care Association of America Executive Director Vicki Hoak said.
But Stephen Rymal, a Griswold Home Care franchisee in New Jersey, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily the extended benefits are not the only reason for the home care worker shortage in his region. He said vaccine hesitancy is also contributing to a dearth of available workers.
“There are many people in the healthcare industry that still question (the vaccine’s) safety. Therefore, we need an aggressive outreach program to reinforce the safety of the COVID vaccine and incentivize everyone to get it,” Rymal said.
A nurse shortage is forcing many home health care companies to up the ante on signing bonuses and other incentives to candidates.
During a virtual healthcare conference Tuesday, Encompass Health President and CEO Mark Tarr blamed the shortage partly on nurses who sidelined themselves during the pandemic to avoid getting sick or to care for family members.
“They will be entering the workforce again. We will then have more of a normalization,” Tarr said.
