FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 2, 2007
CONTACT: Jeff Hall - 617.284.1102
Stephen Crawford, Preston Croteau, Crawford Strategies - 781.643.9410
DATE SET TO TRANSFORM HEALTH CARE
IN MASSACHUSETTS
Largest vote of its kind in New England history
BOSTON – The lives of thousands of seniors and people with disabilities will be vastly improved if a vote on November 7 succeeds. More than 22,000 professional home care workers may choose to dramatically transform health care in Massachusetts and enable thousands of people to remain in their own homes. Ballots for the historic election will be mailed to personal care attendants (PCAs) statewide on October 16.
“It’s difficult to find someone who can provide the care that I need. When my PCA is out sick, it’s almost impossible to find a replacement,” says Shawn McDuff, a PCA consumer and staff person at the Independent Living Center of the North Shore and Cape Ann. “I’ve taken out newspaper ads, called local colleges, and even put an ad on Craigslist. But it's still difficult to find a PCA to help me get up, go to work and enjoy life."
Most of the 15,000 seniors and people with disabilities wishing to live at home in Massachusetts are forced to find their own PCA through a variety of often ineffective and unreliable techniques. Turnover rates among PCAs in Massachusetts are between 40%-60% annually. The vote, the largest of its kind in New England history, would organize personal care attendants and help keep them on the job.
“This is the biggest step we’ve taken in years to improve the lives of our seniors and people with disabilities across the state,” said 1199SEIU Executive Vice President Mike Fadel. “The Massachusetts home care system is in crisis and consumers are having a very difficult time finding and keeping caregivers because turnover rates are so high.”
1199SEIU, the health care workers union, is supporting PCAs and has helped organize the vote. Over one hundred senior and disability advocacy organizations have also pledged their support.
“This is also a positive move that would benefit over 22,000 essential caregivers, many of whom do not have health care coverage, despite being caregivers themselves,” said Fadel. “PCAs voting to have a voice for better jobs and better care will help stabilize the home care workforce.”
The vote would give personal care attendants a voice for better wages and benefits such as sick days and vacation time by uniting them with the 300,000 health care workers of 1199SEIU, the largest local health care union in the country.
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1199SEIU is part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). With 1.8 million members and one million members in the health care industry, SEIU is the largest and fastest growing union in America. Our mission is to improve and expand quality patient care and to protect and improve the lives of our members and our families.