The Guardian | November 7, 2023
«But, workers and labor experts say, short-staffing in the crucial US industry has persisted after the pandemic, with grave impacts on patient care and residents’ wellbeing, and spiraling burnout that has become pervasive in the care industry.
“Most of the time, I want to cry when I see things and I can’t do any more than I can do,” said Linda Long, SEIU 775 nursing home worker. “There are times when we have extra people and we’re jumping for joy because I know the residents will have somebody to talk to, but in general we are still short-staffed, which means you look at the residents every day thinking. ‘Oh my God, how am I going to do this for them today?’”
Long said that the care many residents need has to be done by multiple people at a time, such as operating lifts to raise patients in and out of bed to bathe, to eat and to be active, and oftentimes nursing aides aren’t available to help complete these tasks. The short-staffing often results in workers skipping their breaks and lunches, and cutting corners wherever they can to save time so they can attend to every resident.»
Read the full article at The Guardian.