PALMERTON, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s shift nursing program was set in place nearly 30 years ago, but the funding for those who do the job has been updated only a few times over those three decades.
Now, a brain injury patient is advocating for her home health care nurse and others in the state capitol.
Emily Brong suffered a brain injury a decade ago when, as a 15-year-old, a car accident left her wheelchair-bound and needing 'round-the-clock care.
"If it wasn't for her, I'd be lost."Emily Brong, Brain Injury Survivor
Tamie Sturgis, a full-time skilled LPN nurse for Bayada Home Health Care, now spends 10 hours a day, five days a week taking care of Brong.
"If it wasn't for her, I'd be lost,” Brong said.
The pay for Sturgis and similar home health care employees comes from state funding and doesn’t often increase, despite the cost of living going up.
Pennsylvania has rarely updated its funding formula in three decades: three times for pediatric patients and only once for the adult population.
Sturgis and Brong recently traveled to Home Care Lobby Day at the State Capitol to advocate for better wages for home health care workers.
Brong was able to stand during part of the program, something she couldn’t do a year ago but has accomplished with the help of her home health care nurse, Sturgis.
'If it wasn't for her'
Sturgis and home health care employees like her help their clients with everyday tasks, such as getting dressed and making appointments.
"For clients like Emily, she doesn't need to be in a care home; she deserves to be home," Sturgis said. "All of them deserve to be home with their families or, if they're able, to be in an apartment, but they need that assistance.
"There's times I do 21 days in a row, or something, with Emily because her mom works. I feel if she didn't have home care, her lifestyle would be so different because her mom would not be able to go to work all the time."
"She does know that even though I'm her nurse, I still need to pay for all those things also. So it's great that she advocates for me, too. I love that she advocates for me.”Tamie Sturgis
Sturgis said that, "Unfortunately, they don't pay a lot to have in-home staff LPNs, RNs, even aides, they don't pay them enough to come into people's homes.
"Or, the hours aren't as great, or it's such a long distance to get to someone's home."
Sturgis said that, in addition to going to Home Care Lobby Day, "Emily this year also went to three [state] representatives and spoke to them and that they gave her their undivided attention.
Sturgis and Brong plan to attend that event in Harrisburg every year to advocate for better wages for home health care employees.
They also are advocates for the brain injury community and have been asked by Good Shepherd Rehabilitation to speak at the Mind Your Brain event at DeSales University in September.
"She does know that even though I'm her nurse, I still need to pay for all those things also," Sturgis said. "So it's great that she advocates for me, too. I love that she advocates for me.”
Brong said, “She's my biggest advocate besides my mom. She keeps me going, and if it wasn't for her, I wouldn’t be doing anything.”
