Study: Immigrants Fill Healthcare Worker Shortage

Immigrants make up 28 percent of all in-home healthcare workers, and many of them are undocumented. - - Donna Poisl

By DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN

The population is rapidly aging, unemployment is high, and millions of illegal workers in the U.S. are waiting to see how Congress will act on immigration reform.

At the intersection of those three very different topics is the question of who will continue to care for aging Americans. A new report says that immigrants, including many illegal workers, are staving off a labor shortage in this field, but those on the other side of the debate have a different view.

As of 2010, the most recent year for available data, there were 3.4 million U.S. direct care workers, according to the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute. Direct care workers include personal care attendants, nursing assistants, and other similar positions.
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