Author: Jenni Cairns
Most Americans may not know much about home care until they themselves or a loved one need long-term care. The vast majority of United States residents would rather be cared for in their own homes, rather than in an institution like a nursing home or long-term rehab. But once they make the decision to seek home care services, it’s then that they often struggle to find reliable home care coverage due to the nationwide workforce shortage, which currently leaves thousands of families to make a tough choice: To either take on caregiving themselves or put their loved ones in a facility.
I want to thank South Carolina legislators for recognizing the importance of home care for investing $2.9 million for the 2025 budget towards private duty nursing (PDN) home care program. Home care is delivered to qualifying individuals who are medically-authorized to receive one-on-one in-home care from either a nurse or a home health aide.
As an advocate for the home care industry, I have had encounters with many lawmakers who are unaware about the benefits of home care unless they have had a personal experience with it themselves. This is why much of the advocacy work we do consists of educating policy-makers to help them understand the issues and needs of home care programs, so they can help be a part of the solution. And year after year, this education seems to be finally paying off.
As lawmakers have become more familiar with the cost-savings potential, patient preference, and positive health outcomes of this care option – the more they have understood the importance of adequate home care funding for seniors and individuals with disabilities in their communities. By increasing funding, South Carolina is allowing more caregivers to make fair wages, be attracted to the field, and in turn enabling more vulnerable populations to access home care and stay in their own homes and communities.
South Carolina’s PDN program cares for children and adults living with medically complex diagnoses and allows them to be cared for in the safety and security of home. This investment is a great step forward in broadening access to this critical type of care so that more individuals can remain independent. By keeping these medically fragile populations cared for at home, the State saves thousands of dollars per patient – ten weeks of in-home nursing is equivalent to just one week of hospital ICU care.
Without funding increases like this, the home care industry cannot compete with nursing homes and hospitals that can pay better wages. I work for a home care office that is situated on the North Carolina and South Carolina state line, and it is hard to compete in South Carolina against the higher reimbursement rates in North Carolina. The large-scale hospitals and even home care agencies can pay higher wages, therefore attracting nurses that live close to the border in South Carolina. We need these nurses to remain working in South Carolina to help care for our most medically complex clients.
When legislatures don’t adequately and regularly invest in home-based programs, home care providers lose the ability to attract qualified and reliable in-home nurses – shrinking access to care they can provide for the vulnerable populations who need it. With investments like South Carolina made this year, home care nurses can be appropriately compensated for the skilled, compassionate, and tireless work they do in keeping people cared for at home.
On behalf of the medically vulnerable populations, their families, and their home care nurses across South Carolina, I want to sincerely thank state lawmakers for recognizing the benefits of home care for vulnerable residents and their families. We appreciate lawmakers for understanding the vital role that home care programs play in the State’s healthcare system by keeping people out of costlier settings and keeping them where they want to be – at home.
Name of author: Jenni Cairns
Hometown: Tega Cay, SC
Position: Director of the BAYADA Rock Hill Skilled Nursing Office
Office address: 454 South Anderson Road, Suite 121, Rock Hill, SC 29730
