Slotkin Hears Stories From Direct Care Workers During the COVID-19 Era

WASHINGTON - Representative Elissa Slotkin hosted a virtual roundtable today with direct care workers who have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight in the 8th Congressional District. Direct care workers include home health aides, psychiatric aides, nursing assistants, and personal care aides.

Rep. Slotkin heard stories about direct care workers' struggles with low pay, a lack of personal protective equipment, and insufficient training.

Slotkin was joined by Dr. Clare Luz, Director of the MSU IMPART Alliance, a Michigan State University-led team of researchers working to increase the availability of high-quality home care, and by direct care workers from across the district.

"Since the pandemic started, I've gained a real appreciation for health care workers," Slotkin said during the Zoom call. "My professional background is in national security and not in health care, and dealing with the whole world of issues that you all deal with every day, the impact you all have on thousands of people's lives is remarkable."

"There is a critical shortage of direct care workers," said Dr. Luz. "Just to give you an idea of how big this shortage is in Michigan alone, it is estimated that we need 34,000 more direct care workers than we have today. And the approximate turnover rate among the current workforce is a whopping 83 percent."

Slotkin is a cosponsor of HR 4397, the Direct Care Opportunity Act, which would direct the U.S. Department of Labor to award grants to recruit, retrain, and provide advancement opportunities to direct care workers. This bill would address many of the issues brought up in today's roundtable.