Shortage of paid caregivers keeps family members up at night
Tracy Samilton, Michigan Radio
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Misty Evans stands in her client Ric’s living room in Midland, helping him pick out a record to play on the turntable.
“Which one do you want?” she asks. Ric loves popular music from the 1950s, '60s and '70s. “Boy oh boy oh boy,” answers Ric.
Music selection is just one of the many tasks Misty helps Ric with during her shifts as a direct care worker. Ric, whose last name we’re withholding at the request of his parents, is 58. He has cystic fibrosis and lives in his own, subsidized apartment. He has profound intellectual and physical disabilities and needs care around the clock. Sometimes he hits himself. Sometimes he hits his caregivers.