Printed in the Huntsville Forester

My 102-year-old father has used the services of a home-care worker for over five years. The home-care worker he has is excellent. She is conscientious, trustworthy, reliable and a very caring person. If he did not have her help, where would my father be?

The province’s 3,000 Red Cross Homecare workers went on a rotating strike last week. Red Cross is one of the largest agencies under contract with the government to provide homecare services.

These home-care workers have been pushed to the limit! Services will stop for one day in a particular city before moving to the next. Clients deemed “essential” will not be affected and their services will not be reduced.

These admirable essential workers are a great asset to our health care system. Home care is the delivery of health care and support services in the home. This service enables seniors, people with disabilities, people recovering from surgery and children with special needs to access care in a more comfortable environment.

Travel time remains the main outstanding issue. Workers would ultimately like to receive their hourly wage while travelling from one client’s home to the next.

Other public service workers such as Firefighters don’t get paid just when they put out fires and paramedics don’t just get paid when they save lives. Home-care workers are working 10 to 12 hours per day and getting paid for six. These caregivers also use their own time without pay to call and remind the clients when they are coming.

Here is an example of a working day for a home-care worker. She works 10-hour day but is only paid for six hours because she travels four hours going from client to client (often over rough country roads)...and travel time is not paid! This person makes approximately $84 per day. That works out to $8.40 per hour, less than minimum wage. This is not acceptable.

Home-care workers are critical to our health-care system by freeing up beds in our hospitals and treating people where they want to be — at home. These caring workers are making a great saving to the taxpayers. Why? Because these individuals who need home care would be in hospitals or nursing homes. The cost would be horrendous. Yet, the home-care worker is not appreciated enough.

With soaring fuel prices, distance between clients, and low pay, it is extremely difficult for these caring workers to keep their job. It is a system that leaves these professionals who provide key home health services living below the poverty line.

A staffing shortage caused by all these issues means we will face increased wait time to receive home care. That’s bad news. Home-care agencies and the Ministry of Health that fund them need to adequately support home health care now.

It’s time the government stepped in and rewarded these essential workers with a fair deal. You may need home care in the future, so speak up for these caring, hard-working individuals.

Doris Villemaire

Emsdale