Keep medically fragile children at home: We need better funding for home care nurses | Opinion

My job as a home care nurse is so much more than a profession. I have worked as a nurse in both facilities and in homes, and I know that my heart is in home care — especially with my primary home care client, Abi.

Abi is a 10-year-old medically complex child whom I have known since she was admitted into acute care at Weisman’s Children’s Hospital at just two months old. There are many nurses across New Jersey and the nation like me: Those that want to stay in home care. But the reality is that most nurses are unable to sustain themselves and their families on home care wages, especially knowing that we can make $12 more per hour working in a hospital or a nursing home. Nurses routinely leave home care for better-paying nursing jobs and, at the end of the day, it’s families like Abi’s that suffer when they can’t access the care they need for their loved one to stay at home.

I’ve seen Abi grow and make major strides during her short life. After she and her twin sister were saved from the severe abuse they were suffering at the hands of their birth parents, doctors predicted that she would never be able to walk, talk, see or even eat or breathe on her own. Since she came home with her adoptive parents she has been able to grow and thrive — thanks to their unyielding love and the support and dedication of her team of home care nurses.

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But despite the major barriers that Abi has continued to break — including breathing and eating on her own, attending school, talking, singing and communicating — there is a major obstacle that is affecting Abi’s care and that of thousands of other medically-fragile New Jersey children: The shortage of nurses in the state’s home care industry. While I have been a consistent nurse during Abi’s life, there unfortunately have not been many. Low wages bring nurses in and out of home care quickly, making it feel like a revolving door for Abi and her family. This is heartbreaking because home care patients like Abi deserve to have the consistent, reliable care they need — and their families deserve the peace of mind knowing their loved one is safe at home with a trusted nurse. 

I work in home care —on Abi’s case — once a week. I can only afford to support myself and my family by keeping my home care hours limited. My full time job is as a nurse in a hospital, and, in addition, I am in nursing school earning my advanced license.

The state is responsible for funding home nursing care through its Private Duty Nursing program. In order to solve for the shortage of home care nurses by enabling agencies to pay a wage that will attract and keep quality nurses, I suggest that the state increase funding for PDN services. Without a solution, it’s individuals like Abi and their families that will continue to suffer. 

Rachel Watson is a home care nurse based in Medford, New Jersey.