Maryland Members Tackle Short-staffing

1199ers from Maryland came together with their elected officials and the Caring Across Maryland coalition on January 24 to support the Nursing Home Staffing Crisis Funding Act of 2024. The legislation aims to direct additional state funds towards improving wages and tackling the nursing home labor shortage. It would stipulate that skilled nursing homes allocate a portion of Medicaid reimbursements to increased wages and improved benefits.

Ditanya Rosebud, an 1199 cook at the Levindale Hebrew and Geriatric Center in Baltimore, explained: "Short staffing was an issue before the pandemic, but since the pandemic, it has become a full-blown crisis. Back in the day when we had good staffing ratios, I cooked lunch and dinner for 15 residents. We used to work in smaller household kitchens where we could spend quality time with the residents as we prepared their meals. It was a family-like dynamic, and the social aspect of mealtime made the residents and the workers feel good.

“Now, I cook for 30 residents. I’m doing literally double the work for the same pay. Since we became permanently short staffed, cooks only work in the main kitchen in the basement. We no longer have the opportunity to interact with the residents we have spent decades feeding and bonding with. Working short-staffed feels more like being on an assembly line than being a part of a care team. We are always in “go mode” which is very stressful on our minds and bodies.”

Raising wages will help reduce chronic short staffing by making those who have been working through this crisis feel more appreciated and less likely to quit.

“Robbing Peter to pay Paul is unsustainable,” adds Rosebud, “I care for my two grandchildren. They play sports and I want to be able to afford to buy them more nutritious foods, but those are the foods that are most expensive. If I got a wage increase and could cover all my bills, I would spend anything extra on improving my grandchildren’s quality of life.”