3 Reasons We Need Caregivers to Earn a Decent Living

Neenah, WI, March 21, 2015 --(PR.com)-- As thousands of baby boomers turn 65 every day, the demand for home health care steadily grows. Yet home-based caregivers remain among the lowest paid workers, says Lynn Wilson, founder of The CareGiver Partnership, a national retailer of incontinence products and other home health care supplies.

“When caregivers don’t have a stable standard of living, they cannot provide quality care,” Wilson says. “Agencies that employ home health aides have to balance keeping costs affordable for families who pay out of pocket with attracting quality employees. Even for family caregivers, the job is physically, emotionally and financially draining.”

Wilson says it’s important home health care professionals earn enough to meet their daily needs and more, because it can affect us in several ways:

1. About 8,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day, according to the AARP. As the demand grows for personal care and home health aides to serve aging baby boomers, the industry is among the lowest paid. The median hourly wage is $9.60 and the annual pay average is $18,600, according to the U.S. Labor Department and National Employment Law Project.

2. Eighty-five percent of seniors want to remain in their own homes. If a loved one isn’t ready to move into an assisted living or nursing home facility, families may have to rely on independent caregivers, professional agencies, and, in some cases, respite care offered by state and nonprofit organizations.

3. If a caregiver quits a job to provide full-time care, it can cost that individual hundreds of thousands of dollars. Forty-three million Americans already are caring for someone over age 50, according to Andy Cohen, founder of Caring.com. And one in 10 caregivers quits a job to provide full-time care to an elderly family member, which can cost more than $300,000 in lifetime wages, Social Security and pension income, says Nell Lake, author of “The Caregivers: A Support Group’s Stories of Slow Loss, Courage, and Love.”

For further reading on this topic and more — including “4 Places Caregivers Can Look for Financial Assistance” — visit The CareGiver Partnership blog. Visitors also enjoy access to a Caregiver Resource Library with more than 1,500 links and many more complimentary features.

The CareGiver Partnership is a national direct-to-consumer retailer of home healthcare products for incontinence, diabetes, nutrition support and more. In addition to providing products and services that help caregivers and loved ones maintain personal dignity since 2004, the company also offers an online library of more than 1,500 family caregiver resources and personal service by experts in caregiving. Call 1-800-985-1353 or visit online at caregiverpartnership.com.