Caregivers launch the “We Are Essential, Treat Us Like Heroes” campaign

black caregiver holding white senior hand

Long-term care workers across Florida who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic are uniting through their union, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, to call on government officials and nursing home owners to better protect and fully fund nursing homes. Through the “We Are Essential, Treat Us Like Heroes” campaign, caregivers are putting a spotlight on these and other critical issues that put nursing home residents and workers at risk including unsafe staffing and high turnover due to low wages.

The average hourly wage for a certified nursing assistant, CNA, is about $12 per hour. That’s about $25,000 per year – less than the federal poverty level for a family of four.

“It’s unconscionable that nursing home workers who put themselves at risk every day during this pandemic to care for our loved ones don’t make enough to provide for their own families,” said Roxey Nelson, Vice President and Director of Politics and Strategic Campaigns at 1199SEIU, the largest healthcare union in Florida. “This has a ripple effect because low wages lead to high turnover which impacts staffing levels and ultimately the quality of care.”

A new law allowing personal care attendants (PCAs) to try to fill the void could make matters worse says Nelson because PCAs have inadequate training and they can’t perform all of the critical tasks that a CNA does but PCAs still count toward the 2.5 staffing standard. “Wouldn’t you prefer experienced staff caring for your grandmother or parent,” asked Nelson?

Short staffing and low wages were widespread problems in Florida nursing homes long before the pandemic. The health crisis exposed just how critical these issues are and the impact they have on the lives of residents and workers. The COVID-19 pandemic also revealed how committed, essential and heroic nursing home workers have been through it all, answering the call of duty, despite the risk of exposure to this life-threatening virus.

“The name of our campaign, “We Are Essential, Treat Us Like Heroes”, is fitting because these dedicated and brave caregivers deserve both accolades and a living wage so they can take care of their families,” explained Nelson.  “As these workers prepare to bargain new contracts this year, we’re calling on their employers to invest in their employees because quality care starts with caregivers.”

Consulate Nursing Home Named in OSHA, AHCA Complaints for Putting Patients, Caregivers at “High-Risk” of COVID-19 Infection

FORT MYERS—Florida’s largest healthcare union, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, has filed official complaints with federal and state agencies against Consulate Heritage Park Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Fort Myers for a “blatant disregard” of Covid-19 safety practices, putting the facility’s caregivers and patients at “high risk” of the deadly virus.

Serious shortages of masks, gloves, gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE) continue to be widespread at Florida nursing homes during the Covid-19 crisis, but the OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) and AHCA (Agency for Health Care Administration) complaints against Consulate Heritage Park are the first filed by 1199SEIU in the state due to the severity of the conditions at the 120-bed facility, according to union officials.

“We’ve been imploring state officials and nursing homes throughout this crisis to improve supplies and policies that better protect caregivers and their patients against this dangerous virus,” said Dale Ewart, executive vice president and Florida regional director for 1199SEIU. “But the problems reported by our members and the lack of cooperation by management at this facility brought us to this point of alerting OSHA and AHCA.”

So far, two patients tested positive and one has died related to Covid-19 at Consulate Heritage Park, according to state reports. At least one worker is quarantined due to possible exposure, the union reports.

However, a lack of comprehensive testing makes the true number of Covid infections at the facility unknown, said RN Betsy Marville, who filed the complaints on behalf of workers and 1199SEIU.

Caregivers help feed, bathe, dress and other close-contact essential needs for elderly patients most vulnerable to the virus, yet they lack basic PPE, according to the OSHA and AHCA complaints. Among numerous issues, the filings to OSHA and AHCA state:

• Healthcare providers are entering rooms where droplet isolation cards are posted, but there is no PPE available, including face shields/goggles, masks, gloves, and gowns.

• CNAs who are directly caring for residents who are on isolation are denied knowledge of why the isolation has been initiated, including for patients who are Covid-positive or suspected of being Covid-positive.

• Workers were provided only one face mask and told to make it last “forever,” when such equipment is medically designed for disposable one-time use.

• Until the state published a list of facilities with confirmed Covid cases, direct caregivers were unaware they were working with Covid-positive patients.

• While workers were denied PPE, Consulate Heritage Park management reported to state officials that the facility had adequate supplies.

The OSHA and AHCA complaints also cite “fear, intimidation, and divisiveness” from Consulate Heritage Park management to prevent staff from reporting dangerous working conditions.

The facility is operated by Consulate Health Care, one of the largest long-term companies in the nation with dozens of locations across Florida.

“We’re talking about possible life and death consequences for residents and staff each time a caregiver walks into a room without proper protections. Workers are scared for their patients, themselves and their own families,” said Clara Smith, 1199SEIU regional director in Southwest Florida. “There’s more fear than I’ve ever seen during 40 years in this field.”

1199SEIU Florida Press Release: May 12, 2020

Contact: Ed Gilhuly | 305-807-6906 | egilhuly@leftcom.com

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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest healthcare union in the country represent*ing more than 450,000 nurses and healthcare workers nationwide, including more than 24,000 in Florida. Our nurses, certified nursing assistants and other healthcare workers care for Florida families in hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities throughout the state.

New Report Finds Some Consulate Nursing Homes Violating State’s Staffing Law

Consulate Health Care is a fast-growing, large nursing home chain with 151.7% increase in revenues since 2010iii. However, the data shows Consulate failed to comply with the state’s minimum staffing standards in 16% of its facilities for the first quarter of 2013. The use of antipsychotic medications at Consulate nursing homes was above average in all but one of the homes for the first quarter of 2013. These are serious issues that have an impact on the quality of life for nursing home residents that need immediate intervention.

Click here to read the full report.

Open Letter to Florida Families: Safe Staffing Concerns at Consulate-Owned Nursing Homes

Staffing levels are of grave concern to us because, while we are barely above the state’s minimum standards, Consulates current levels mean that we have between 4-6 more residents than we did before. As you can imagine, this means we don’t get to spend the quality time that we need with each person to ensure that we can serve their meals warm, or ensuring they are as comfortable, changed, cleaned or attended to as we (and we think you) would like.

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Florida Caregivers Launch “Every Minute Counts” Campaign to Protect Nursing Home Residents

In response to new state legislation that cuts safe staffing levels and bedside care in Florida nursing homes by 18 minutes per resident per day, 1199SEIU Florida caregivers have launched the “Every Minute Counts” campaign to protect nursing home residents from potentially life threatening health risks. Nearly three-hundred caregivers ratified the campaign at an 1199SEIU Florida Joint Delegate’s Assembly in St. Petersburg, FL in early September.

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Florida Nursing Home Caregivers Make History: First in State With Safe Staffing Requirements in Contract

After Florida enacted a new law rolling back minimum safe staffing requirements in the states nursing homes on July 1, 1199SEIU members at Avanté at Lake Worth Nursing Home saw an opportunity to maintain higher safe staffing levels by negotiating them in their union contract.

“When we learned the state rolled-back minimum safe staffing levels, we felt like our wings were clipped and wondered how are we going to take care of people’s loved ones in the best way possible,” said Doreen Holm, a CNA with 23 years of experience who has worked at Avanté for four and a half years. “My co-workers and I are overwhelmed and excited that we were able to negotiate a contract that includes safe staffing protections for residents. It’s something we fought for as soon as we found out the state was rolling back staffing levels.”

After negotiating with the company for two months, they finally reached agreement. On August 23, union members at Avanté made history by voting to ratify the first union contract in the state to include safe staffing requirements, which guarantees residents will receive a minimum weekly average of at least 2.9 hours of bedside care per resident per day.

The new contract also provides Avanté workers with wage increases, bonuses, a 401(k) plan with employer-matching contributions, and health insurance and tuition benefits.

“I think this is one of the best contracts we’ve gotten so far,” said Holm. “We’re very excited about how far we’ve come. We did it by standing together.”

By including safe staffing protections in their union contract, Avanté and its workers have sent a strong message to the legislature and nursing homes throughout Florida that care for seniors and people living with a disability must be a priority and should be the last thing to be cut.

Since minimum safe staffing levels were instituted in nursing homes in 2001 with bipartisan support, care in Florida has greatly improved. As a result, Florida has earned one of the highest standards of nursing home care in the nation.

Unfortunately, the new law permanently cuts minimum safe staffing levels in nursing homes from a weekly average of 2.9 hours of care per resident per day by certified nursing assistants to 2.5 hours of care.

This shortens the minimum amount of time caregivers spend with each resident by 18 minutes per day. As a result, there can be delayed responses if a resident falls, less time to attend to bedsores, delayed bathing and grooming, less time to help a resident get to the bathroom, and less time to simply have a friendly, stimulating conversation.

But nursing homes like Avanté are not required to roll back safe staffing, and can make the moral choice to provide a higher standard of care than the state requires, as Avanté has done.

“It could be your mom or my mom that’s not being cared for properly because of staffing cut,” said Holm. “These are all of our loved ones. I’m very glad that residents will get much better care with our contract’s safe staffing protections in place.”

PRESS RELEASE: Concerned Caregivers Petition Florida Nursing Home Operators to Maintain Safe Staffing Despite Roll Back of Landmark Law

Miami, FL – On behalf of nursing home residents, caregivers in 40 nursing homes in Florida today announced the delivery of 3,000 workers’ signatures to nursing home administrators urging them to keep bedside safe staffing levels in place and ignore the roll-back passed by the Florida Legislature. The proposed roll-back, which poses a serious threat to the health and safety of elderly and disabled nursing home residents, will be implemented when the state’s 2011-2012 budget takes effect July 1.

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