A study found that in the third year of the pandemic, 19.7% of health care workers said they faced food insecurity in the last month. In contrast, the food unsafe rate of all medical staff is 6.6%.

Research published in the journal Health Affairs this fall showed that nursing homes have the most serious problems, with 22.7% of medical staff, assistants and assistants reporting lack of adequate food.

Mithuna Srinivasan, lead research scientist at the University of Chicago NORC and author of the Food Insecurity Research for Medical Workers, said that medical workers are often ignored in conversations about food access because previous research and interventions have focused on the general population.

Srinivasan said: “The gap in this study is that it all focuses on patients’ food insecurity.” “No one asks the question from the perspective of the medical staff.”

Srinivasan said that many workers in these positions made too much money to receive federal assistance like SNAP, but not enough to support their families. She said, or their working hours are inconsistent, which means they may be eligible for one month, but not eligible for another month.

Joe Pecora, vice president of the American Association of Family Health Workers, said that despite health care jobs, many members still live in poverty

Pecora said: “We have experienced a lot of insecurity-food is not safe, clothes are not safe, rent is not safe-mainly because society is embarrassed by their lack of wages and compensation.”

Pecora said that once the pandemic is declared a state of emergency, unions are allowed to let workers start using their pre-tax flexible cards (called pandemic relief cards) to buy food.

“We think this is an opportunity to provide food to our members,” Pecora said. “This is a huge benefit. It puts the money straight into the pocket.”

Pecora said that the annual turnover of workers represented by his union is about 20%. He said that 95% of them are black women and earn about $15 an hour.

Pecora said: “They go to Amazon or Wal-Mart, and even some fast-food chains to work in higher-paying jobs to make more money, rather than bear the same level of physical and mental stress.”

The entire healthcare industry has Clamoring for workers, The long-term care sector is particularly struggling because it is characterized by low wages and tiring work.

Due to staffing issues, the nursing home had to be closed, and the National Guard has been sent to help others keep it open.This Nursing home department layoffs about 8,400 people in November And it has been in a downward spiral since the pandemic began. When it comes to home care, the facility is arguing with a never-ending waiting list, and if there are no more staff, it will not be able to receive new customers.

Robert Espinoza, vice president of policy at PHI, said: “What we see is that many employers simply cannot fill their vacant positions. We have heard stories about the closure of nursing homes. What will happen to these residents? This is Disastrous.” “Unless we improve our direct care work, this problem will worsen.”

The American Healthcare Association/National Assisted Living Center, which represents more than 14,000 nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the United States, stated that long-term care providers are “focused on solutions that help attract and retain” workers.

AHCA/NCAL said: “During the pandemic, we heard that suppliers provide food pantry so that employees can easily get free food, provide meals for employees and meet other needs, such as transportation, to help employees spend their wages on other necessities. .” In the email statement.

However, AHCA/NCAL stated that the low rate of Medicaid reimbursement hinders medical service providers and requires legislators to intervene.

“Long-term care providers cannot solve food insecurity and other issues alone. We need policymakers and stakeholders to work together to solve these major social challenges,” AHCA/NCAL said.

Srinivasan said that in addition to directly increasing wages to reduce food safety for direct caregivers, another option is for employers to provide benefits programs that maximize take-home wages. This may mean setting a floating ratio for health insurance premiums based on salary levels. She said, or employers can provide other types of assistance, such as childcare support or housing and transportation assistance, which will help workers save money that can be used for food.

“Low-income people will not experience these needs in isolation,” Srinivasan said.