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Foreign-Born Care Givers in Washington State Nursing Homes: Characteristics, Associations with Quality of Care, and Views of Administrators

Journal Article
June 11, 2015

This journal article presents the findings of a survey of Washington State skilled nursing facility administrators, who were asked about the implications of the growing number of foreign-born certified nursing assistants in their facilities. A significant majority said that foreign-born workers often present difficulties related to the language barrier that exists between them and residents, while roughly one-third of administrators said that cultural issues between workers and residents tend to create conflict. However, the article notes that facilities whose staff is at least 50 percent foreign-born showed higher resident satisfaction than those with lower percentages of immigrant workers.

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Key Takeaways

"Nearly half of the administrators reported difficulty hiring U.S.-born job applicants."
"Almost half of the administrators reported discrimination by patients/clients toward their foreign-born workers."
"The proportion of foreign-born employees in nursing facilities may be associated with improved performance."
 

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