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.
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There is a serious shortage of direct care workers in Michigan and the nation, caused on large part by the low pay, long hours, arduousness, and no benefits. But people who stick with it do it because they love to take care of others. We meet once such person, Sarah Sutherlin, during one of her shifts at the home of 92-year-old Carmela Palamara.
There is a serious shortage of direct care workers in Michigan – as well as states across the nation. Direct care workers provide caregiving for disabled and elderly people – everything from making meals and managing medications, to housecleaning and companionship. About half of these workers provide services to disabled and elderly people living in their own homes.