ROCKFORD, Mich. — There is a growing need for home care in Michigan, and one local company is doing all it can to attract more workers.
Infallible Home Care LLC, based in Rockford, has been providing assistance to people inside their own home since 2018, but the owner, Amy Parker-Tunnell told Fox 17 they quickly saw a change to their business once the lockdowns started.
“As time progressed, the caregiver has kind of faded off and the clients now have increased.”
Parker-Tunnell says part of the increase in demand for their services came from families choosing to take loved ones out of larger facilities.
“I know two particular families who yanked their family members out of where they were because they weren’t able to see them," Parker-Tunnell said. "They weren’t able to be there for them or have any direction in their care.”
The loss of caregivers in her industry, Parker-Tunnell attributes at least partly to the increase and extension of unemployment.
“We have to turn people away because we don’t have the staff to take care of them,” Parker-Tunnell told Fox 17 and they’re not alone.
A study by PHI, Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, a non-profit working to ensure quality care for older adults and adults with disabilities, shows a statewide shortage of 34,000 caregivers in Michigan and it’s not expected to get any better.
PHI predicted some 178,000 job openings in the field from 2018-2028 in Michigan due to growth and turnover.
Infallible fears their employee shortage could get even worse once the Covid hazard pay bump for direct care workers expires after September 30th.
“Everybody is grumbling behind the scenes but really it needs to come to the forefront because we’ve got people out there that really need help,” said Parker-Tunnell, while her Patient Care Coordinator, Caitlin Marvin explained they have 12 workers right now but could easily add another 10 due to the high demand for their services. “That would probably have us covered a couple three weeks, until we start getting more clients and more referrals. Because were getting referrals almost daily. It’s usually multiple a day.”
While they didn’t give an exact pay rate, both women told Fox 17 their pay is a “good starting pay rate” and they offer sign-on bonuses, provide paid training, allow workers to build their own hours and are adding health benefits soon.
Infallible says they try to place workers at homes close to their own home and a nursing degree is not required because they do not administer medications or shots.
“What it takes for a good caregiver is to have the empathy and compassion and the willingness to care about somebody in their community that might need help,” Parker-Tunnell told Fox 17.
For more information about Infallible Home Care, LLC, call (616)263-9656 or check out their website.