Home health workers are paid barely above minimum wage and most rely on public transportation to get to patient homes. On Long Island, this typically involves use of commuter train (LIRR), buses and walking. Commutes can be over 2.5 hours each way per day and involve over mile walks each way from the bus stop to patient homes and most of their income is used to cover the transportations fees.
Due to the barriers and challenges with work commute, (the time, the energy and the cost) many home health workers cannot or will not take on patients that are distant from public transportation, which is leading to a shortage of workers to service these patients, leaving hundreds of seniors in need of home health.
In the last Year there has been an increase on the number of cases where the patient has been found deceased alone at home after several days waiting for home care.
ATHC provides solutions and support to home health care workers by finding subsidized transportation. While fighting for Equality in pay.