Do long-term care employers need to vaccinate staff members?



It supports reimbursing staff members for time and expense. But, she noted: “There is good evidence of behavioral economics that gives signs of money taking risks. These vaccines are really safe and effective, so we don’t want to reinforce people’s fears. ”

Although covid-19 cases and deaths are declining in long-term facilities, people with vaccination rates also need to be cautious. New residents are constantly coming in, and employees are on leave; Turnover among nursing staff in nursing homes is unusually high, averaging 128 percent annually, a new research has found. This means that after one year, all members of the nursing staff will be left behind, and therefore will account for 28 percent of their transfers.

Probably the biggest problem is the immunization of the country’s largest number of direct care workers, about 3.3 million working in private homes.

“It’s going very badly,” said Vicky Hawk, executive director of the Home Care Association of America, which represents 200,500 home care agencies. Even though home care workers are preferred for vaccination in every state, they are struggling to get it.

Like the rest of the direct care workforce, home care workers are predominantly women of color, many of them immigrants. Research and Advocacy Group PHI. According to the 2019 12.12 an hour average in 2019, they are the lowest paid group. About half depends on some ancillary components, such as Medicaid or food programs.

Without a central workplace, they would be harder to reach, educate and vaccinate than assistants in nursing homes and supportive organic centers. (Some, taken privately by individuals and families through the so-called gray market, do not work for agencies at all.)

“Vaccine shrinkage is a factor, but more so is the lack of easily accessible opportunities for vaccination,” said April Verrett, president of CIU Local 2015, a union representing about 400,000 home care assistants in California.