«Leaders of industry groups commended the state for moving quickly to come up with the rapid-response teams, but they noted that the teams aren’t a fix for the ongoing need for adequate staffing. Adam Glickman, the secretary-treasurer of SEIU 775, which represents long-term care workers, said the shortages call for paying workers higher wages and affordable health benefits.
‘This plan helps overstressed nursing home workers who are covering for sick co-workers in the short term and that’s great and necessary,’ Glickman said in an email. ‘But we should be clear that this is a bandage to stop the bleeding, and doesn’t address the underlying problem which is ongoing dramatic underfunding of our state’s nursing homes.'»