Being a caregiver is a tough job, whether you’re a family member or a paid employee. Injury among caregivers is high, given the physical demands of the job, and most paid workers earn so little that they must rely on Medicaid for their own health insurance. The hours are long, the burden is significant and yet demand for such workers keeps rising. So much so that, according to MIT Professor of Human Resources and Management Paul Osterman, severe shortages of available caregivers are in our future and, in his own words, “It’s an absolute train wreck waiting to happen.” In addition, a confluence of forces, including changes in US immigration policy and political fights about health care funding, conspire to make a bad situation even worse. Anyone with a relative who needs help or who anticipates their own need for caregiving in the future (which, frankly includes almost all of us) should sit up and take notice of this looming catastrophe. Read more about this caregiver disaster heading straight our way by Clicking Here and check out Paul Osterman’s new book on the long term care workforce Here. Finally, take a look at the most recent piece in Vox that critically examines the challenges facing this low paid, beleaguered group of caregivers by Reading Here.
