Many disabled people in Michigan depend on home healthcare aides for help with bathing, feeding, cleaning and more. Having these aides come to their homes helps individuals avoid moving into a nursing home and maintain their comfort and dignity.
While some people with long-term and permanent disabilities receive this care from family, often at least part-time professional care is needed. Home health care workers can make a huge difference in their client’s quality of life. But now that we are in the midst of a global pandemic, finding aides has become difficult. Workers are understandably reluctant to risk spreading COVID-19 to their clients, or getting exposed and putting the health of themselves and their families at risk.
Lockdown, pandemic has triggered home care aid shortage
Unfortunately, this has left a lot of severely disabled people with limited options, as Michigan Radio reports. Some must now rely even more on parents, spouses and other loved ones. These relatives do their best, but cannot be available 24 hours a day. So some disabled people are finding their lives have been dramatically impacted by the coronavirus, even if they have not gotten sick.
A homecare aid shortage has been a problem for years. A report released by the Wisconsin state government last year called it a “crisis” in that state. Researchers said there were more than 20,000 job vacancies for home healthcare aides. Even without the pandemic to worry about, working as a home aide is hard work, often for low pay, and there is a great deal of turnover.
Fighting for the right result in your SSD case
For those who have become disabled and unable to work, Social Security Disability (SSD) can help you pay for needed home aides. Getting approved for SSD can be a long and complicated process. Your best chance at getting the funds to help you afford the equipment and support you need is to retain a qualified SSD lawyer to help you. Your attorney can make sure your application or appeal is complete, persuasive and backed by the evidence.