skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Asking WA Lawmakers to Care More – about Caregivers

play audio
Play

Monday, January 28, 2008   

Olympia, WA – A coalition of nursing home workers and social service advocates is rallying today at the Statehouse to ask Washington lawmakers for better pay and health insurance. They say nursing home residents will get better care and facilities will have less employee turnover if legislators improve employees' wages and benefits. They are suggesting a package of $15 million, about double what the Governor proposed in her budget.

Christine Jimenez, policy researcher for the caregivers' union (Service Employees' International Union Local 775) and a member of the "Washington United for Quality Nursing Home Care" coalition, says more money should go to nursing homes that take low-income, Medicaid patients. Those facilities could then afford to increase wages and offer employee benefits. Jimenez adds a federal match is available, which means the state's money could go twice as far.

"The $15 million in state funds, matched with $15-plus million in federal funds, is enough to cover health care in our highest Medicaid facilities for those workers who have wages under $15 per hour."

Nursing home employees in Washington say it's hard to care for others when they can't make ends meet for their own families. According to Jimenez, the typical Washington nursing home worker makes $10 an hour and receives no benefits.
And not all the care facilities are created equal, she notes. Especially in small towns, they need more help from the state.

"There are nursing homes out there that are very well funded, but they're not well funded by Medicaid. And then there are those who serve the poor; those in the rural communities. I think that's the reason they're not heard: They aren't in the cities or in the richest parts of our state that get the most attention."

The Senate Ways & Means Committee is scheduled to take up eldercare funding legislation, SB 6567 and SB 6222, later this week. The rally is at 10:00 AM today in a tent adjacent to the State Capitol building.

Information about the "Washington United for Quality Nursing Home Care" coalition is online at www.justicefornursinghomeworkers.com.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021