Home care agencies across the Capital Region and Hudson Valley are losing workers and scrambling to maintain care for vulnerable patients after temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian nationals ended Monday.
Providers say the termination of work authorization is forcing them to remove employees from longtime caregiving roles, worsening an already severe labor shortage in home care and long-term care settings.
The greatest impact will be felt by the patients, said Kevin Thomas, president and CEO of the New York State Association of Health Care Providers, which represents home- and community-based care providers across the state. The organization has heard from several member agencies that have had to pull employees from their jobs because they no longer have work authorization…