Everybody with a spinal cord injury has had to deal with a caregiver at some point. Whether in the hospital, an outpatient facility, or at home, caregivers perform all kinds of tasks from reaching something on a high shelf to managing a ventilator. A good caregiver acts as an extension of a person with a disability’s body. They do what an individual can no longer do for themselves, enabling them to live as safely and efficiently as possible. It may seem counterintuitive, but having someone reliable to depend on can make a person more independent.

Unfortunately, not all caregivers fit this ideal mold. Everyone has nightmarish stories about caregiver experiences. Sadly, theft, abuse, and absenteeism are more common than they should be. To make things worse, there is a shortage of caregivers nationwide. As the population of the United States ages, more senior citizens are moving into assisted living facilities of various care levels and these facilities need to add employees to keep up with the increase in demand. However, the facilities remain understaffed and the employees are overworked and underpaid, creating an endless cycle of caregiver burnout, substandard care, and perpetual shortages of employees. The same problem exists for in-home caregivers. Since good caregivers are hard to find, there is high turnover and many caregivers stay at jobs for short periods of time. As a result, good caregivers often work more hours than they would at a more traditional job.

Further exacerbating the caregiver shortage are the low and stagnant wages that come with the job. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for an in-home caregiver is $10.66 per hour. Medicaid and private insurance companies are notorious for limiting and cutting benefits, leaving little hope for a voluntary increase in wages. Many caregivers are forced to work for several clients or several agencies just to make enough money to make ends meet. When other industries can offer higher wages for jobs that require less education and training, it makes it difficult to recruit the best candidates to be caregivers.

In order to make caregiving jobs more attractive, changes obviously need to be made. To begin, education and training for caregivers need to be made accessible, affordable, and thorough. By offering education and training either through a state-funded program or a private company or institution, potential caregivers will be exposed to a variety of medical diagnoses for which medical care is needed. Exposure to various fields would allow caregivers to have some flexibility when searching for jobs and to have potential for advancement. Thorough training would ensure that clients receive the best care possible, and that caregivers would be better prepared to do their job well. Additionally, a mandated increase in wages for caregivers would go a long way in attracting more candidates to the profession. In recent years, many have advocated for an increase in the minimum wage for all workers. Some states and businesses have responded favorably and wages have been increased. Others continue to resist and wages remain stagnant. Most of the coverage of the debate over raising wages has focused on groups of fast food workers pushing for a living wage. People generally scoff at the idea of fast food workers making more money for doing what many consider to be menial jobs. Lost in the discussion are the many other professions, caregiving included, that do not pay well enough for workers to survive while working a reasonable number of hours at one job.

Clearly, there are many factors beyond the scope of this blog when it comes to discussing a raise in wages for workers. However, when it comes to caregivers working in facilities or in people’s homes, a wage increase is necessary for both workers and clients. A job that involves ensuring the health and well-being of another person requires talented and caring people. The only way to attract such people is to provide a wage that makes caregiving worth a person’s time and effort. Without this, the caregiver shortage will continue to increase, forcing people with disabilities to face situations where quality care is not available. Without good and reliable care, it is difficult, if not impossible, to live a healthy, productive, and independent lifestyle.

Written by Mike Franz 
Mike is a C6 quad from Michigan who has been injured 16+ years.