About 13,000 home health aides and patient care assistants received a major boost from the Connecticut General Assembly on Wednesday.
The House and Senate, with wide bipartisan margins, approved a new contract with the workers that included higher wages and, for the first time ever, workers’ compensation coverage.
Top Senate Republican Len Fasano, applauded the passage of the agreement. It passed the Senate 32-0.
"First and foremost this benefits people," Sen. Fasano said. "Second, it saves taxpayers money in the long run by keeping people out of expensive care facilities and instead helps elderly and disabled individuals live comfortably in their own homes."
Denitra Pearson is a Patient Care Assistant in New Haven where she’s provided care for the same woman for four years. During that time, Pearson’s client suffered a pair of strokes and bouts of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
"She’s more like family than a patient to me," Pearson said of her relationship with her client. "You know, you grow to have a bond with them because they need us, and we need them."
Pearson said she can rest easy now that she will have more money in her pocket and peace of mind knowing she will have coverage for workers’ compensation.
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"Higher wages means I don’t need to struggle on a day to day basis for gas, necessities for my kids, and workers’ comp, I don’t have to stress if I get hurt on my job anymore," she said.
Gov. Dannel Malloy celebrated the bipartisan passage of the agreement.
"These professionals work around the clock to provide lifesaving, critical care for thousands of elderly residents and people who have disabilities – and they do it in homes, which ultimately is better for both patients and for taxpayers," Malloy said in a statement.
Rep. Joe Aresimowicz echoed the sentiments of the governor and said: “We are talking about low wage workers with the enormous responsibility of caring for our loved ones, who are also saving taxpayers millions of dollars by helping people stay in their homes.”
