Feb 16, 2020 3 min read

If television commercials touting various medications and financial plans are to be believed, our senior years are a time of fun and frolic.

Tennis! Exotic vacations! Gardening! Cheerful, well-behaved grandkids!

While it is true that people are living longer and healthier lives than they once did, time waits for no one, as the now decidedly elderly Rolling Stones once sang, and infirmity can only be kept at bay for so long. Unless you’re one of those extraordinarily lucky centenarians who believes their longevity can be credited to daily consumption of whiskey and cigars, chances are you will eventually need someone to help you with your daily needs.

And most seniors would prefer to be cared for in their homes, to “age in place,” rather than going to costly assisted living or nursing home facilities. If they don’t have family with the wherewithal to help with daily tasks like doing laundry, dressing or even helping them eat or brush their teeth, they will almost certainly call on a home health care worker.

Being a home health care worker is physically demanding and it doesn’t pay well. On average, home health care workers make between $11 and $14 an hour, which works out to about $24,000 per year. But it’s also an area of employment that’s projected to grow and grow in the years ahead – in just eight years, it’s estimated that 1 million more home health care workers will be needed in the United States to keep up with the demand, thanks to the aging of baby boomers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s the third-fastest growing profession in the country.

Francis Adams, a Washington resident, told U.S. senators last week just how tough it is to be a home health care worker. Testifying before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, the 70-year-old Adams detailed how he took up the work after caring for a grandfather who was dying of black lung disease. He also said that, while helping others meet their day-to-day needs, it is often hard for home health care workers to care for themselves. Many don’t have health benefits and can’t afford doctor visits, or rely on public assistance to supplement their incomes. Turnover rates are high.

These workers, who are so crucial to the well-being of our parents and grandparents, deserve better.

Theoretically, the wages of home care workers should be increasing as the demand for their work increases. That hasn’t been the case, however. Many home care workers are women or people of color who have long endured lower pay in comparison to their white or male counterparts. The reimbursement rates from Medicaid and Medicare are often not enough to provide a living wage, and agencies that employ home care workers often slice off a significant chunk of revenue for themselves.

Some states are moving toward passing laws that would give home health care workers overtime pay and paid sick days. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, has introduced legislation that would raise wages and increase training for home health care workers.

Let’s hope it becomes law. A boost in pay and benefits can’t come fast enough for Adams and his fellow home health care workers.