Seven Caregiver Layoffs as Massachusetts Sets Home-Care Rules

At Cabrini nursing home in Westchester, a Trump administration immigration policy shift left seven full-time Haitian caregivers ineligible to work. The facility laid them off. The workers were mostly nursing assistants who fed, bathed, and groomed elderly residents. They were usually the first people residents saw in the morning and the last people they saw before bed, Simone Smith, Cabrini’s human resources head, said. Smith said the departures left a staffing void that the nursing home would struggle to fill.

The account describes one nursing home. A KFF study cited in the report says immigrants make up 30% of the country’s direct care workers and 60% in New York. The report also says 6% of the nation’s direct care workers are Haitian. It says the healthcare system is heavily dependent on immigrant caregivers. Stephen Hanse, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association, said providers were already struggling to recruit and retain long-term care workers and that the decision could further deplete workers who provide direct care to residents. Karen Lipson of LeadingAge NY said its member organizations find it difficult to fill and replace positions because the roles require significant training.

Massachusetts is using a different policy tool. Gov. Maura Healey signed a law directing the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to create a home care licensure structure. It is to include background checks, driving-record checks for workers who offer transportation, annual training and competency requirements, a suitability review for applicants, and a public list of licensed agencies. The rules concern non-medical home care, including dressing, meal preparation, and bathing. The governor’s office said EOHHS will begin working on all facets of the law in the coming months. The reports cover different settings and do not establish broader effects on access or staffing.