Let’s Take Care of the Workers Who Care For Our Seniors
Published 2:24 pm Wednesday, October 25, 2017
by Chelsey Musick, assistant director of nursing at Calder Woods Senior Living in Beaumont, Tex
In the weeks since Hurricane Harvey flooded communities across Texas and upended millions of lives, Texans have focused on rebuilding and identifying ways to move forward. During this critical time, we must make sure not to forget about older adults in residential communities and the workers who care for them.
My colleagues at Calder Woods, a senior living community in Beaumont, went out of their way to provide stability to our residents during the chaos of Harvey. In the days leading up to the storm, everyone went about their usual work: our licensed nursing staff provided high-quality medical care to the residents, never knowing what medical event may occur on a given day. The nursing assistants provided general care and helped residents in and out of beds and to and from appointments. In addition, our direct care workers provided nourishing meals, cleaned the grounds, and performed many other duties to keep the facility running.
We chose this profession because we care, and a storm can’t stop us. So it didn’t surprise me to see my team step up to the challenge—even one the scale of Harvey—to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of our residents. Half the residents in our care never knew the hurricane was happening, which is amazing considering older adults are often the most severely impacted during times of disaster. Life was business as usual, because the people they knew and trusted were with them. The executive team even brought in extra mattresses, food, clothing, and personal items to ensure the staff received what we needed during the storm so we could take care of the residents. As crazy as it might sound, by supporting the staff, the executive team allowed the residents to be better cared for.
Our staff worked through the hurricane as the water encroached on lives and burst into homes. Most of us did not know how our own homes fared during the storm as we worked. My family personally lost our home during this disaster, and we were evacuated by boat during my day off. Sadly, many of my colleagues, including direct care workers and nursing assistants, lost more—and were in less of a position to deal with the aftermath.
Working with older adults has been an incredibly rewarding career choice and I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know the people I care for every day. As our country prepares for an increase in the population of older adults—88 million by 2050, we will also need 2.5 million long-term services and supports workers by 2030 to keep up.
That’s why it’s so important that we justly treat the dedicated professionals who take care of our nation’s elders. Organizations like LeadingAge believe that reforms such as increased wages, more paid time off, reduced number of double shifts, hiring more and better trained workers, and improved access to education and training opportunities, can help.
Let’s ensure that older adults have access to the same passionate care providers that serve our community residents day in and day out, even in the worst of times.
Chelsey Musick is the assistant director of nursing at Calder Woods Senior Living in Beaumont, Tex.