Nursing homes may provide stable but demanding employment. Older adults frequently require assistance with everything from personal hygiene matters to daily household maintenance. As such, nursing homes are almost always in need of more workers.
In recent years, nursing homes in Florida and across the United States have faced a shortage of willing and available support workers. Current immigration policies at the federal level may actually worsen these circumstances in some nursing homes.
How immigration relates to elder care
As mentioned above, nursing home work can be incredibly demanding. Professionals often have irregular schedules and challenging job responsibilities that could include lifting, dressing and otherwise caring for residents.
The difficulty of the job does not automatically correlate to improved wages. Many nursing home workers do not earn a competitive hourly rate or salary. Instead, their pay may hover near the lowest amount that the local job market permits. Caregiving work is a common employment path for those new to the country.
Amid immigration crackdown efforts, some undocumented professionals and those concerned about their status may simply stop going to work out of fear of enforcement actions. Others may end up detained and cannot return to work as a result.
In either case, the nursing home that employed those workers may struggle to find replacement workers. The older adults who live at a facility are the ones who suffer neglect or outright mistreatment when a nursing home is chronically understaffed.
Recognizing the impact that understaffing can have on older adults can prompt families to pursue nursing home negligence lawsuits. Legal action may be the best option when older adults suffer the consequences of policy changes and employment practices.
