Caregivers for us Seniors among fastest growing jobs list in US

hawkdon said:
A few years ago, the local senior center adv for volunteers
for snow shoveling for senior homes....sorry, you are on your
own....not one volunteer......:(
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The Senior Centers in this area don't do snow shoveling, lawn maintenance, housekeeping or any other chore crucial to help seniors remain in their homes. The Senior Centers help their own staff and social workers remain in their homes by paying them a salary but seniors are on their own.
 
We have a lawn crew mow our lawn during the warm months, but there doesn't seem to be a snow shoveling/blowing service for the winter. Or maybe there is. I haven't really looked into it since most snow we get here in Denver is light and powdery, and is easy to shovel. Once in a while, though, we get dumped on... usually in the spring. That's when I could use a service to shovel our sidewalk. Our house is on the corner, so we have twice as much sidewalk as most houses.
 

Patch said:
Our granddaughter got her CNA during her sophomore year of high school. She went to work between her sophomore and junior years at a local nursing home. Now graduated and enrolled in nursing school, she is still working long hours at the same facility.

She had a couple stop her in the hall one day last week. They had just admitted their father to the facility. They told her she was the only face they recognized from when their mother was in the facility. Told her they remembered her because of the excellent care she gave to their mother. It's the truth! Turnover is ridiculous! She, at 19, is one of the senior caregivers at the facility.

They are offering higher pay for new hires than she is making. She is strapped with training new hires while working her regular shifts. They will work her as many hours as she will give them, sometimes seeing 14 to 16 hour shifts when relieve does not show up. She has asked for more money, but they refuse saying they "can't afford it". They are assisting with her nursing school tuition so she wants to stay on until she completes nursing school.

A couple weeks ago, she received a call from her personal doctor's office. They asked her if she would think about going to work for them. She went in for an interview and they offered her more per hour than she is making at the nursing home. But... the tuition assistance is a big thing. So... she is now working two half days for the doctor's office, 40 to 45 hours/week for the nursing home and going to school. Sheesh!

There is not nearly enough people out there with solid work ethic... who will show up... show up on time... get peed and pooped on.... get cursed at and hit at by someone with no idea where they are or who they are... change adult diapers... help the aged shower... have 80 year old men try to drag her into the shower with them... clean up those who have passed away so they are prepared for the mortician crew. And, she really seems to enjoy what she is doing and really cares for her residents.

She does not know if she will stay with geriatrics when she gets her nursing certification. She knows that is where the future is and that is where the pay should be consistent with the demand. Pediatrics, etc. is more inviting. Who knows. We are an aging population and need trained and dedicated people in the field.
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It also doesn't help that, around here anyway, almost all assisted living and skilled nursing facilities are owned by corporations. Between the 2 of them, my nephew and niece-in-law have worked for both those kind of facilities and also done in-home elder care and trying to take good care of patients and trying to keep happy the 25-year-olds with their business degrees that corporate sends to throw their weight around is super stressful.
 
My experience with home health aides is from 27 years ago.

Still, I urge people to carefully check out all home health aides and agencies. To my surprise, a friend of mine has a client who is awaiting sentencing for being a big time dealer of an awful illegal drug. He asked my friend if he would get probation (instead of a very longsentence) because he is a home health aide.

Apparently some of those agencies will let anyone who can walk, talk, and breathe into homes of patients. This is only one example, and does not a trend make; it is anecdotal. I actually doubt things have improved since my triplets came home from the NICU. Our home health aide experience was a freaking nightmare. But I keep in mind that very few home health aides are eager to take care of premature triplets.
 
Irwin said:
We have a lawn crew mow our lawn during the warm months, but there doesn't seem to be a snow shoveling/blowing service for the winter. Or maybe there is. I haven't really looked into it since most snow we get here in Denver is light and powdery, and is easy to shovel. Once in a while, though, we get dumped on... usually in the spring. That's when I could use a service to shovel our sidewalk. Our house is on the corner, so we have twice as much sidewalk as most houses.
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I remember (faintly) when kids used to come around to shovel snow. They made a healthy income from it, if they were industrious.
 
katlupe said:
I worked for a number of years as a CNA and found that work to be very rewarding. It was at a time when I wanted to be needed. The residents I cared for made a difference in my life. It was hard work but what made it harder was the fact that you have to care for more people than is possible. If you had less, then you could really do a good job and give them more time. Instead it was hurry, hurry, hurry. In almost every nursing home I worked in the biggest problem was the staff getting along, not the residents or their care.
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My daughter worked as an activities director at a nursing home. Except for the way some of the staff treated the patients, and the fact that the people in charge did nothing to correct the problems, she loved her job. The patients she came in contact with loved her. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to come back and visit them. This was pre-Covid.

She actually got fired for reporting neglect to patients. For example, she found a patient sitting in a wheelchair in the hall in front of the bathroom. She had been waiting for an hour for an aide to come back to her to let her in. There were patients who could not eat the food they were served; some of the had to be spoon fed, but were not. The food, btw, was awful ... the patients didn't like it. It is difficult to get patients to eat enough when the food tastes horrible.

There were patients who had dementia and the staff would argue with them. My daughter simply agreed with them, and continued talking with them, and they stayed calm. Otherwise, they would get agitated, which is definitely not doing the patients any good.

My daughter helped those who needed it. She said the biggest problem was the profits took precedence over hiring enough staff to see to the patients properly.

I looked the nursing home chain up on Medicare, and it got 2 stars. I looked up the owners; they were very wealthy.
 
I know two ladies that work as a team caregivers for a couple in the couple's home, one takes the night shift and one the day shift...they have been doing this for a couple of years and are making good money. They do lite housekeeping and cooking and take the couple to different appointments and etc.
 
katlupe said:
I worked for a number of years as a CNA and found that work to be very rewarding. It was at a time when I wanted to be needed. The residents I cared for made a difference in my life. It was hard work but what made it harder was the fact that you have to care for more people than is possible. If you had less, then you could really do a good job and give them more time. Instead it was hurry, hurry, hurry. In almost every nursing home I worked in the biggest problem was the staff getting along, not the residents or their care.
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I still go through that now in the hospital setting.
 
WheatenLover said:
My daughter worked as an activities director at a nursing home. Except for the way some of the staff treated the patients, and the fact that the people in charge did nothing to correct the problems, she loved her job. The patients she came in contact with loved her. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to come back and visit them. This was pre-Covid.

She actually got fired for reporting neglect to patients. For example, she found a patient sitting in a wheelchair in the hall in front of the bathroom. She had been waiting for an hour for an aide to come back to her to let her in. There were patients who could not eat the food they were served; some of the had to be spoon fed, but were not. The food, btw, was awful ... the patients didn't like it. It is difficult to get patients to eat enough when the food tastes horrible.

There were patients who had dementia and the staff would argue with them. My daughter simply agreed with them, and continued talking with them, and they stayed calm. Otherwise, they would get agitated, which is definitely not doing the patients any good.

My daughter helped those who needed it. She said the biggest problem was the profits took precedence over hiring enough staff to see to the patients properly.

I looked the nursing home chain up on Medicare, and it got 2 stars. I looked up the owners; they were very wealthy.
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Oh yeah, you had to be very careful what you said to family members or anyone higher up or it would cost you your job.
 
WheatenLover said:
My daughter worked as an activities director at a nursing home. Except for the way some of the staff treated the patients, and the fact that the people in charge did nothing to correct the problems, she loved her job. The patients she came in contact with loved her. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to come back and visit them. This was pre-Covid.

She actually got fired for reporting neglect to patients. For example, she found a patient sitting in a wheelchair in the hall in front of the bathroom. She had been waiting for an hour for an aide to come back to her to let her in. There were patients who could not eat the food they were served; some of the had to be spoon fed, but were not. The food, btw, was awful ... the patients didn't like it. It is difficult to get patients to eat enough when the food tastes horrible.

There were patients who had dementia and the staff would argue with them. My daughter simply agreed with them, and continued talking with them, and they stayed calm. Otherwise, they would get agitated, which is definitely not doing the patients any good.

My daughter helped those who needed it. She said the biggest problem was the profits took precedence over hiring enough staff to see to the patients properly.

I looked the nursing home chain up on Medicare, and it got 2 stars. I looked up the owners; they were very wealthy.
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There is no recourse for people who work in these settings. There is no union, if it's a fire at will state, the person is doomed. Don't trust the state surveyors either. They lie and manipulate. It's a real mess. You may not believe me but I know they do.
 
My experience with loved ones in assisted living facilities - even memory care units - have been far superior to even highly rated nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities. I hope and pray to never need to be placed in a nursing home or SNF. Not even for a short stint.
 
@Jules is right. Many of the health aides that worked in the nursing home my mother went to were overworked, had back problems from lifting and turning (sometimes heavy) patients and they certainly are not paid enough. An issue with home health aides is finding ones who are kind, caring and trustworthy. I hope to be able to age in place and in fact my family said they wouldn't put me in a home, but I've cautioned them to be very vigilant if I ever need a home health aide.
 
Patch said:
Our granddaughter got her CNA during her sophomore year of high school. She went to work between her sophomore and junior years at a local nursing home. Now graduated and enrolled in nursing school, she is still working long hours at the same facility.

She had a couple stop her in the hall one day last week. They had just admitted their father to the facility. They told her she was the only face they recognized from when their mother was in the facility. Told her they remembered her because of the excellent care she gave to their mother. It's the truth! Turnover is ridiculous! She, at 19, is one of the senior caregivers at the facility.

They are offering higher pay for new hires than she is making. She is strapped with training new hires while working her regular shifts. They will work her as many hours as she will give them, sometimes seeing 14 to 16 hour shifts when relieve does not show up. She has asked for more money, but they refuse saying they "can't afford it". They are assisting with her nursing school tuition so she wants to stay on until she completes nursing school.

A couple weeks ago, she received a call from her personal doctor's office. They asked her if she would think about going to work for them. She went in for an interview and they offered her more per hour than she is making at the nursing home. But... the tuition assistance is a big thing. So... she is now working two half days for the doctor's office, 40 to 45 hours/week for the nursing home and going to school. Sheesh!

There is not nearly enough people out there with solid work ethic... who will show up... show up on time... get peed and pooped on.... get cursed at and hit at by someone with no idea where they are or who they are... change adult diapers... help the aged shower... have 80 year old men try to drag her into the shower with them... clean up those who have passed away so they are prepared for the mortician crew. And, she really seems to enjoy what she is doing and really cares for her residents.
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After retiring from a career as a pilot I became a Nursing Home Administrator and everything you say is true. Being a CNA is not a desirable job. In fact, it's awful. God bless her and all of them for what they do and hopefully he'll show them a way to a better life. Do all you can to encourage her to find that path.
 
Don M. said:
Our population is aging at an increased pace. People are living longer, while the number of births are declining. Japan's population is already showing signs of "stress" as that nation is leading this trend. Who knows how this will play out, but it will probably create even more problems for society.

One of our granddaughters worked part time as a Senior caregiver, while she was studying to become a nurse. She found that job quite stressful, as many of the people she served were really in bad shape. Now, that she is a pediatric nurse in a nearby hospital, she is relieved to no longer having to interact with so many people in such circumstances.
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Yes, I'm sure it is a tough job. My mother is in hospice, and I am completely depressed each time I visit. I see caregivers talking to her and even singing to her. For the most part, they are angels.

And Japan is in such bad shape, they are now using robots to take care of the elderly. We may be there at some point in the future.

https://www.aeroboticsglobal.com/robots-for-elderly-care/
 
dseag2 said:
Yes, I'm sure it is a tough job. My mother is in hospice, and I am completely depressed each time I visit. I see caregivers talking to her and even singing to her. For the most part, they are angels.

And Japan is in such bad shape, they are now using robots to take care of the elderly. We may be there at some point in the future.

https://www.aeroboticsglobal.com/robots-for-elderly-care/
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Supportive robot care would be preferable to a lot of the rushed (and sometimes apathetic) care we've all seen in nursing homes. Why not free up human caregivers for the tasks that robots cannot provide?
 
When I get my partial knee replaced with a completely new knee, I can have up to 3 months of home care also home Physical Therapy per my insurance. Never had this before as I always had my wife. I'll give it a try to see how it works out. Also, the home care will change bandages & take me to my appointments with my surgeon. Will be interesting.

My D.I.L. who lives next door or about 500 ft away she is an EMT & usually takes care of me.
 
Marie5656 said:
Well, according to this article, we Boomers are becoming significant to the job market in an interesting way. Caregivers are on this list of fastest growing jobs as more of us are needing the care.

Fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. point to caregiving crisis as Boomers age (yahoo.com)
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This is a really difficult area to automate. I'm looking forward to seeing automated companions, that is something that addresses the emotional not just the physical needs. Something like that would help the human caregivers to be able to help more people.
 
Devi said:
Don't the Japanese have robots to help them?
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The Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and most of Europe are just a bit further down the road than we are. As First World birth rates decline, aging becomes an increasing problem. Maybe the Japanese will sell us some of their robots!
 

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