Governor Hochul: Support Home Care Recipients, Families and Workers
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
Although the governor may not wish to admit it, the home care worker shortage crisis is still raging, despite a token wage increase in 2022. I am a 62-year-old man who resides in Ossining and has severe multiple sclerosis. In the past six months, although I am authorized to receive 62 hours a week of home care services, the home care agency has been unable to adequately staff my needs.
My wife must work, thus there have been many days I have been without assistance for 8 to 10 hours. During this time, I must remain in a recliner, unable to move, with all of my essentials by my side. Should I continue in this manner, without regular services, I will be at risk of being sent to a skilled nursing facility where my health, safety and life would be compromised.
My life matters, as do the livelihoods of my staff. The governor seems to believe that an equitable wage for home care workers is too expensive, yet she doesn’t blink when subsidizing a new stadium for a professional football team in Buffalo.
I plead with all my neighbors to call the governor’s office this week at 518-474-8390 while the state budget is still pending and tell her she should be ashamed for not supporting people with disabilities and their caregivers.
Nick Longo
Ossining
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