The two work with people who can't do things for themselves, such as eating and bathing.

Their clients range from people with wires and tubes connecting their bodies to machines, to those who are physically sound but often don't know what day it is.

So it wasn't a surprise that they trudged through the heavy rain Saturday to Buchanan Park for the inaugural Direct Caregivers Appreciation Day.

Hoover, of Ephrata, and Markley, of Lancaster, are certified nursing assistants, or CNAs, whose jobs require them to arrive for duty in all kinds of weather, because people's care depends on them.

Tom Baldrige, president of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry, who was among those who came to honor the nearly two dozen CNAs and other caregivers, said he figured the festivities would be postponed.

"Then I realized that in the positions you're in, you're obligated to always show up, because people need care 24 hours a day, seven days a week,'' he said.

Debra Hinkle, a CNA and home health-care manager at Mediquest Staffing, a Lancaster health-care personnel provider, had initiated the event and vowed it would be held rain or shine each year on the first Saturday in June.

Despite the essential roles they play, professional caregivers aren't always recognized for what they do, either

in praise or compensation, said Scott Sheely, executive director of the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board.

Sheely, who also expressed

his appreciation to the caregivers, said his organization is working to get more people into the field because of the personal satisfaction it brings rather than the money it pays.

Wages currently range from $8-$17 an hour, Hinkle said.

For the past two years, Sheely's agency has aired television commercials that feature CNAs and other caregivers giving testimonials about their profession.

The ads are paid for by hospitals, home health care providers, nursing homes and other health-care entities.

"We've heard that people are coming into the field because of that advertising,'' Sheely said.

Although there are more than 1,000 CNAs, personal care attendants and home health aides across the county, there's still a shortage, Hinkle said.

And it all boils down to demographics, Sheely said.

"We don't have as many people coming into the work force as we do people needing care,'' he said.

While worker shortages plague nearly every industry, caregiving is one in which technology can't take up the slack, Sheely said.

"This is an industry that requires people. It's a whole different kettle of fish.''

For years, he said, society has put a high priority on technology and has gotten away from encouraging people to do hands-on work.

But Lancaster County, with its large percentage of long-term care facilities and retirement communities, needs such help.

"Society needs to step up and increase salaries and to show regard for the caregiving profession,'' he said.

A CNA for the past 22 years, Hinkle also serves as her trade's state advocate. She's a member of the state's work force advisory committee to the Department of Aging, and the Pennsylvania Culture Change Coalition, and an adviser to the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center.

Hinkle said she visits high school students and talks with "empty nesters'' (people whose children have grown and left home) about joining the caregivers' ranks.

In addition, she provides training seminars.

Last fall, one of her sessions resulted in the formation of what she said is the state's only CNA and direct-caregiver support group.

The CNAs at Luther Acres, Lititz, formed the organization, known as CARE.

Hinkle said becoming a CNA requires 75 hours of skilled training and taking a test to receive certification.

Many health-care providers will pay for the cost of the program, she said.

That's what happened for Ada Hoover, who has worked as a CNA at Luther Acres since November.

Three years ago, when Hoover was seeking a career change at 40, she said Fairmount Homes, Ephrata, hired her without training and then paid for her CNA course.

"I had wanted to do it since I was 20,'' she said. "I've always loved older people.'' blog comments powered by Disqus