Campaign to Address the Long-term Care Crisis in the Valley

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Roots of the Campaign

In the Spring of 2006, KVO decided to address the crisis of long-term care and personal assistance for elderly and disabled community members in the Kennebec Valley. We see this as both a jobs and a health care issue.

We heard from direct care workers – that is, front-line caregivers such as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), Home Health Aides and Personal Care Aides – in our member groups about the challenges they face to provide good care, including high patient loads; low pay; physical strain and injury; long, unpredictable hours; and, perhaps most ironically, lack of access to health care benefits for themselves.

Nursing homes and agencies, with limited revenues coming mostly through government reimbursements, cannot offer competitive wages and benefits to recruit and retain enough qualified workers.

With the crisis of direct care work comes a crisis of direct care. We heard stories from our member groups of people who worry about getting quality nursing home or home health care for themselves or loved ones, now or in the future. People are worried that they will not be able to find enough help to stay in their homes as long as possible, or, if nursing home care is required, that there will not be enough beds or that overstretched staffs will not be able to adequately attend to their needs.