After decades of loyal service, the majority brave caregivers at Plaza Health Network don’t even make $15/hour to care for their families. However, Plaza and its new CEO, Elaine Bloom, will tell you that they value your work. How can they say that? Members want to know how Plaza Health Network can agree to pay the federal government $17 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation for Medicaid fraud, but can’t pay its caregivers what they deserve. Something has got to change!

That’s why they decided to stand together and join forces with millions of other hardworking people around the country to demand a minimum of $15/hour. “We aren’t asking to have fancy cars or titles, but we will demand the right to care for our families the same way we are asked to care for our community’s neediest while at work,” said Lilli Solomon, who has worked at Jackson Plaza for 40 years, yet make less than $11 an hour.

According to Salaries.com, the median hourly wage for a certified nursing home assistant working in a nursing home in Florida is just $12/hour. This leads to alarmingly high turnover, jeopardizes critical services and strains the long term care system as more and more Americans will rely on both nursing home and home care workers. Sadly, money is there to change this trend, but is not being utilized. Surging price per bed valuations, record Medicaid revenues, and soaring profits underscore the availability of economic resources within the long-term care sector. It’s time for owners to invest some of those hefty profits back into frontline caregiver's wages.

“Caring for my residents is extremely rewarding, but the trouble is that I can’t support my own family on the low pay,” said Marie Alcindor, a certified nursing assistant with more than 22 years at Miami-based Arch Plaza nursing home. Alcindor is paid less than $11.50/hour, while she cares for our community’s seniors and those living with disabilities. That’s well below Florida’s living wage of $16/hour. “It also affects those we care for day-in and day-out. Many times I know that I am caring for someone’s grandmother or grandfather when he or she is at the most vulnerable stage of life. For long term caregivers and nursing home residents, we need change now. It can’t just be about more profits.”