FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 24, 2023
For more information contact: Emily Dong, 267-761-1502; emily.dong@seiuhcpa.org
“$40,000 in medical bills doesn’t encourage people to work here”: Nursing Home Workers at Shenandoah Manor Call On Priority to Invest in Staffing for Resident Care
Caregivers say raising wages and providing affordable healthcare are deciding factors in recruiting and retaining staff in the region.
Shenandoah, PA — Nursing home workers from Shenandoah Manor spoke out at the Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners Memorial early Thursday, calling for financial accountability and investment in care for Shenandoah’s nursing home residents. Workers, who helped Priority win $25.4 million in new, annual state funding, called on the company to put taxpayer dollars toward increased staffing.
“Priority has an opportunity right now to invest in staff recruitment and retention in our first union contract,” said Marie Gunderman, a medication technician at Shenandoah Manor who first worked in the personal care unit when it opened in 1993. “We take care of residents like they’re our own family. People in this community who work hard and pay the taxes that fund nursing homes should be able to see that money go back into resident care.”
The workers, who formed their union last year after Priority Healthcare Group purchased the facility, identified competitive wages and affordable healthcare as key solutions to a skilled workforce crisis. Quality health insurance with affordable costs has been a sticking point in negotiations for their first contract with the company.
Since switching to Priority’s insurance plan in January, Shenandoah Manor workers have experienced huge out-of-pocket costs for scans and surgeries. One caregiver owes $48,000 for a hysterectomy, double her annual salary, and is stressed about calls from collections agencies. Another chooses to go without insurance, after she experienced the same Priority plan at a previous facility and could no longer see her family doctors, considered out-of-network by the insurance.
“I know for a fact that more people would sign on as staff if Priority raised wages and offered healthcare that was affordable and comprehensive,” said Joseph Honus, a licensed practical nurse at Shenandoah Manor for 23 years. “Agency aides are paid as much as me, a nurse with over 20 years. My recent surgery will probably cost $40,000 with this insurance. That does not encourage people to work here.”
Loved ones of residents at Shenandoah Manor joined the workers in calling on Priority to dedicate state funding toward recruiting and retaining in-house staff. Loved ones explained that in-house staff care for residents on a daily basis, providing a familiar face and knowledge of residents that agency staff cannot.
“These caregivers took care of our loved ones throughout the pandemic. Now we need to take care of them,” said Helen, whose family member is at the nursing home. “I was shocked to hear how inadequate these workers’ healthcare is.”
The concerns of residents’ loved ones and caregivers over insufficient staffing grow as Pennsylvania’s staffing ratio regulations take effect. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are also expected to announce new federal staffing rules. The regulations partnered with accountability around funding ensure families in areas like Shenandoah, with more people over 65 years old than any other age group and with higher rates of health risks such as cancer and heart disease than the state, have access to quality long-term care.
“We need to correct this – smaller people are saying ‘I can’t live on these wages. I can’t live without health insurance,’” said Andy Ulicny, the President of the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society. “Our parents and grandparents fought hard for fairness and labor. We had a coal strike that turned the nation around. It’s people like these healthcare workers who care for people who need our support.”
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SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania is the state’s largest and fastest-growing union of nurses and healthcare workers, uniting tens of thousands of professional and technical employees, direct care workers, and service employees in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home- and community-based services, and state facilities across the Commonwealth. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania members are committed to improving the lives of health care workers and ensuring quality care and healthy communities for all Pennsylvanians.