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Janie Rodriguez, a resident assistant at Capitol Lakes Terraces in Downtown Madison, enjoys getting to know her assisted living residents, many of whom have dementia.

"It's good to know you're helping them achieve the quality of life they deserve," said Rodriguez, 29, of Madison.

But the job — which involves dispensing medications, bathing residents, feeding them, helping them go to the bathroom, rotating them in bed and moving them in and out of wheelchairs — isn't easy. In her seven years at Capitol Lakes, Rodriguez has seen many workers leave after a few weeks or months.

"They get worn out and feel like, 'This isn't for me,'" she said.

Wisconsin, like other states, is experiencing a workforce "crisis" at assisted living facilities and nursing homes, according to a report this year from the state's four associations that represent providers of both kinds of care.

Fort Atkinson looks at fining assisted living facilities for emergency calls The City Council is expected soon to consider an ordinance to establish $1,000 fines for preventable calls to assisted living centers.

One in seven caregiver positions is unfilled, often because there are no qualified applicants for the jobs, the report said. Workers can get similar or better pay at retail or fast food outlets.

Personal caregivers generally earn about $10.75 an hour, compared to $12 an hour at similar entry-level jobs in non-health care settings, the report said. Pay for resident assistants at assisted living facilities is often even lower, according to the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association.

The associations have requested a $91.2 million increase in the 2017-19 state budget for nursing home care, a 12.7 percent increase from 2015-2017, and $40.4 million more for assisted living direct care through Family Care, a 2.5 percent increase. The groups say the additional money would help them pay workers more and make the jobs more attractive.

Family Care and other Medicaid programs cover about 40 percent of assisted living residents, many of whom have physical or developmental disabilities. Other residents, many of them elderly, generally pay out of pocket.

"The facilities can only pay what they're given," said Sarah Bass, development director of the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association.

Facilities with mostly private-pay residents sometimes pay workers more, but Bass said they face pressure to keep rates down. "The market will only bear so much," she said.

'Cycle of burnout'

Michelle Godfrey, vice president of operational support at Oakwood Village, which has seven assisted living facilities in Madison, said at least four or five resident assistant positions at Oakwood are open at any given time.

"We're never at a point where all shifts, all positions are filled," Godfrey said.

In Waunakee, Sylvan Crossings at Westshire Village is "lucky if we get five or six applicants a week," said Katie Drea, resident care director.

Typically, only four of the applicants will return phone calls and only two will show up for interviews, Drea said. "Usually we are successful in hiring one — or less," she said.

SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin represents resident assistants at Oakwood and Skaalen Assisted Living in Stoughton.

Resident assistants start at $10.95 to $12.20 an hour at Oakwood and $10.42 to $11.13 an hour at Skaalen, depending on experience, said SEIU organizer Crystal Martzall. The union is pushing for higher wages and striving for better staffing overall so workers aren't called in on days off or asked to do double shifts, Martzall said.

"It creates this cycle of burnout," she said.

Samantha Walsh, 23, of Verona, was a resident assistant at Heritage Senior Living in Monona before getting a job this year as a nursing assistant at a Madison hospital.

One reason she changed jobs: She's making $16 an hour at the hospital, compared to $14.50 an hour after five years at Heritage.

Another reason: The hospital job comes with tuition reimbursement, which the assisted living job didn't have. That will help pay for nursing school, Walsh said.

She said her job at Heritage was a great way to learn about the health care field, and working with dementia patients taught her to develop a lot of patience. But with duties ranging from feeding residents to doing laundry and cleaning rooms, the pay wasn't enough, she said.

"We wore many hats, but we didn't get paid for wearing all those hats," Walsh said.

Students fill some shifts

Capitol Lakes, which is near UW-Madison, relies heavily on student workers, said Patrick Senzig, assistant living director. The starting wage there is $11.30 an hour, he said.

Students are "driven and they want to learn," Senzig said. But "you don't get a lot of people who are looking to do this long term."

Aicha Oujjilal is an exception. She has worked at Capitol Lakes since 1987, including the past four years as a resident assistant in assisted living. With her seniority, she makes well over $15 an hour, she said.

"You're helping these helpless people. Somebody needs to do it," said Oujjilal, 52, of Madison. But, "I come home and have aches because of the lifting that I do, the moving and the stretching, the bending. It all adds up."

Chris Dean, 45, of Madison, works at Whitney Lodge, an assisted living facility on Madison's West Side for people who are mentally ill or emotionally disturbed.

"I'm not going to lie to you; it's challenging, it's stressful," Dean said. But, "I put myself in their shoes. What if it was me and I needed the help?"

Buba Drammeh brings similar empathy to his job at Heritage in Monona, where he makes $14 an hour as a resident assistant supervisor after working there for three years.

Drammeh, 28, of Sun Prairie, works with residents who have advanced dementia. Sometimes they hit him, swear at him or call him names, he said.

"I've seen some people leave the job because they can't handle that," he said. "But I don't take it personally. I know they're not in their right senses."

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