Supreme Court limits reach of the Voting Rights Act and hears arguments over temporary protected status

Worried that she could suddenly lose an integral part of her staff, Rachel Blumberg has already spent $600,000 over the past year to increase wages, provide signing bonuses and train new employees at Sinai Residences, a senior living community in Boca Raton, Florida.

Blumberg, CEO of Sinai Residences, employs 40 Haitians with Temporary Protected Status, who help care for the roughly 500 older adult residents as certified nursing assistants, nurses, kitchen staffers and servers, dietary aides, housekeepers, maintenance workers and porters. They make up about 9% of employees, and some have been with Sinai Residences since it opened a decade ago.

“There is a significant financial impact to our community,” she said. “Unfortunately, that gets passed on to the seniors.”

Like Blumberg, elder care industry leaders nationwide are bracing for the loss of a key pillar of their workforce. They work in nursing homes, rehab centers, assisted living facilities and communities for older adults. They also help senior citizens as aides in their homes.

Overall, immigrants make up more than a quarter of workers who provide direct care in long-term care settings, according to KFF, a health policy research group. Notably, they make up nearly one-third of those who work in home care.

Read more about Haitian TPS holders’ role in the elder care industry.