PA's caregiver unions, politicians push for better conditions in nursing homes

Caregivers at 14 nursing homes across the commonwealth have gone on strike after negotiations related to the use of $600 million of state funding fell through this week.

Members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania made their intentions to hit the picket lines clear during a Wednesday Zoom meeting, during which time they explained the troubled state of nursing facilities throughout the commonwealth, along with the need for funding to ensure quality care for residents and proper compensation and benefits for workers.

Angela Ferritto, President of the PA AFL-CIO — which represents 700,000 workers from 51 International Unions, and 1,422 locals in all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties — PA State Senator Maria Collett and Rep. Bridget Kosierowski were joined by members of the SEIU Healthcare union, who called upon two nursing home chain owners to negotiate in good faith and fulfill their promises to caregivers and residents by investing $600 million of the commonwealth's budget into workforce and resident care.

Union members are contesting the issue of how the $600 million earmarked for nursing homes in the commonwealth will be spent. The plan sets $250 million for one-time payments to long-term care providers this fall, though there are no specifications on how that money is to be used, according to an investigation by Spotlight PA.

The remaining balance is intended to fund a permanent increase in state funding to pay for low-income residents'' stay in those facilities, with the caveat that 70% of all costs go to "resident-related care" — but what that includes is not entirely clear.

These increases will go into effect in Jan. 2023, providing an approximate $35-per-day increase in the state reimbursement rate for the care of low-income residents — a 17.5% increase. Care facilities receiving these funds must show that 70% of their total costs are resident-related, as opposed to utilizing them for administrative or overhead costs.

Workers at 14 facilities took to the picket lines on Friday, and workers at another four may join them next week.

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“PA AFL-CIO stands in support of our friends, the SEIU Healthcare nursing home residents and workers – nearly all women – who have been underpaid and undervalued for too long,” Ferritto said during the Wednesday Zoom meeting. “On behalf of Pennsylvania taxpayers, we are demanding that the owners be held accountable for the $600 million public investment — an investment intended to lift up wages and invest in care — not to pad owners’ pockets.”

SEIU has called attention to accountability issues at numerous facilities, noting that even though civil and criminal investigations connected to Comprehensive are ongoing, owners have continued to acquire other nursing homes in the state.

"15 facilities linked to the ownership are subject to ongoing litigation over wage theft involving hundreds of employees, and some have been fined $8.7 million by regulators over quality violations and also been suspended from the Medicare or Medicaid programs 56 times over quality issues," SEIU said in a statement issued Aug. 30.

The $600 million in public investments stemmed from state budget negotiations, where union members joined Governor Tom Wolf and various politicians to promote the need for the funds at nursing homes to address hot-button issues including staffing ratios.

However, according to Ferritto and other proponents, "two nursing home chains (Priority Healthcare Group and Comprehensive Healthcare) are thumbing their nose at the legislative intent of that funding by refusing to invest in underpaid staff and long overdue resident care."

Collett, a registered nurse herself, made it clear that she stands with the nursing home workers, as "I know what it's like to be in their shoes."

The senator called attention to the fact that these workers, who are predominantly women and people of color, are often unjustly treated as disposable or interchangeable, "but they don't know what it's like to bathe a patient who soiled themselves when their call went unanswered during an understaffed shift or comfort a scared dementia patient in the middle of the night."

"These jobs are not easy, physically or emotionally, and it’s past time for providers to make long-overdue investments in bedside care and the dedicated staff who keep our long-term care system running,” Collett said.

Kosierowski noted that the $600 million was set aside specifically to prevent the collapse of the nursing home system in Pennsylvania, and that the funds are absolutely necessary to protect both patients and caregivers.

“As a fellow bedside nurse and caregiver, I stand firmly in support of our nursing home workers who are taking a strong stand to protect our seniors and residents and demand real reform, better care, and higher standards and wages. Our seniors, nursing home residents and our women-driven workforce deserve no less,” Kosierowski said.

Speaking on behalf of those on the front lines, Lindsay Burns, a Licensed Practical Nurse at the Grove at New Castle, Shelly Robinson, a Certified Nursing Assistant at Rose City, and Karen Hipple, a Licensed Practical Nurse for a Guardian nursing home in western Pennsylvania, shared their personal experiences in the broken system to shed light on how a lack of funding impacts patients and caregivers.

Of particular note were stories concerning the plight of nurses and other caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic, which put excess pressure on those workers, with many opting to retire or otherwise leave the field.

“I joined the fight for my residents — it’s all about the residents — and also my coworkers,” Burns said. “With the nonstop fight through COVID — and the horrors we have been through the last few years, everybody from maintenance all the way up to LPN deserves a fair wage.”

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Robinson noted that the fight for fair wages that has raged since the '90s has yet to be rectified.“Still to this day, we are asking for basic rights and fair wages. All we want is to be treated with respect and decency — for the sake of our residents, our families,” Robinson said.

Hipple also highlighted the impact of COVID on her and her fellow workers, saying "it was incredibly painful to watch our patients die from COVID every single day."

“And because of that, we have lost a lot of staff, and still have not rebounded, so it is constantly all hands on deck," Hipple said. “We are a team, but staffing is so critical, and it is getting very ridiculous.”

Burns, Robinson and Hipple stated that on any given shift at their respective nursing homes, they could be responsible for anywhere from 21 to 30 residents, which severely impacts their ability to provide care.

“Folks have gone to work with some of the most deplorable conditions you could imagine during such challenging times, and every single nursing home worker and every single Pennsylvania resident in a nursing home deserves better care,” Matt Yarnell, president of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, said. “Every one of these companies can do the right thing."

Yarnell added that these workers are "not a number on a spreadsheet," and they need to be treated with respect and dignity in light of the fact that they "are being put through hell, and it's outrageous."

Yarnell stated that the union is aiming to cap staff ratios at 10 patients per nurse during day shifts, 11 per nurse during evening shifts, and 15 per nurse during night shifts, in addition to increasing wages.

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Wage increases are a vital part of the negotiations, Yarnell noted, pointing out that he recently had a discussion with a union member who has 10 years of experience, yet only earned only $12 per hour. SEIU is currently fighting for a minimum rate of $16 per hour for all nursing home workers, which, based on current offers to "scabs," or workers willing to break union strike lines, are easily within the owners' reach.

"Let me just be frank — what these members are going through right now, in these two chains in particular, is an outrage," Yarnell said. "There is a posting up at Stroud Manor in the Poconos, offering folks scab pay at $64 an hour for a CNA, $110 an hour for LPN, and $150 an hour for RNs, with double and triple time, and weekend premiums."

If the union was offered rates like those, Yarnell added, "we would sign a contract tomorrow."

Though Pocono Record was unable to locate positions with those rates at Stroud Manor, which also shares an address with The Meadows at Stroud and The Gardens at Stroud, a post for an LPN opening at The Gardens at Stroud notes an $8,000 sign-on bonus.

Though workers were working on ratifying a contract with Guardian Health Care on Wednesday, Ferritto made it clear that in the event of a strike, the trade unionists would honor and respect SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania picket lines.

Standing outside The Gardens at Stroud Friday, dozens of staff members in SEIU shirts held signs reading "Fund nurses," "Our elderly deserve better," "Priority: Where is your priority? In your pocket" and more.

Allison Bond, a CNA who has worked at the location for 18 years, raised concerns about Priority not budging on negotiations; in fact, she noted that the union received an offer for less than what nurses are making at the moment on Thursday.

Bond said that she and her fellow union members are "willing to be out here as long as it takes" to achieve fair wages and proper care for the residents of the home.

"We do a great job as it is without the supplies we need, with the low staffing. But with more staffing, more supplies, our residents would be a lot more taken care of, like they should be in their home," Bond said.

Kenyatta calls out nursing home owners

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta offered his support for the cause, noting that the injection of funding could have a massive impact on the ability of nursing homes provide better care for patients and better pay and conditions for workers.

"I believe that the employees in nursing homes have done so much to keep the residents safe, under incredibly challenging circumstances, and it is only right that their employers dedicate this boost in funding to patients and their staff," Kenyatta said in an opinion column in The Philadelphia Inquirer. "All of the money should go to higher wages for every person working in a nursing home, hiring more staff so no one is overworked, buying supplies for residents and staff, and providing better care to residents."

Kenyatta warned that if the funds are not appropriately allocated, "nursing home owners may use the money for the companies' greed," pointing out an incident that occurred last year when a private company connected to more than 100 nursing homes spent $70 million to acquire nursing home chain Diversicare in lieu of investing in workers and wages.

Collett noted that the issue of properly funding nursing homes is not limited to those who currently work or reside in them, being that at some point, many people will rely on these services for care. As such, fortifying these installations is a vital move to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of Pennsylvanians.

"We know that our providers have the resources to treat these employees the way they deserve to be treated, and they're making a conscious decision not to do it," Collett said. "That's why we're here today, to demand better for you. Everyone needs workers, but also every single aging Pennsylvanian is going to rely on the caregiving that these workers provide."

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Nursing home in Poconos offering scab pay up to $150 per hour. Why?