Sen. Casey offers prescription for change
LEWISBURG -- U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. spoke at Evangelical Community Hospital recently about his health initiatives, focusing mainly on his efforts to improve Pennsylvania's direct care workforce.Sen. Casey, a Democrat, spoke to an audience of nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care aides and others who have spent numerous years in the field of direct care. His concern, he said, is with the baby boomer generation aging at a time when staffing in nursing and personal care homes is on the decline. As a result, there may not be adequate health care for the next generation of elderly residents.Direct care workers are poorly paid and underappreciated, he added, and the issues that surround direct care will affect all of the population eventually.Sen. Casey listened to the issues, concerns and desperate situations that were raised by direct care workers, many who have worked in their profession for more than 30 years.