Nursing Home Operators in State Say Immigration Policy Changes Upended Years of Workforce Planning

Nursing homes and home health agencies in Wisconsin have had to scrap plans years in the making to hire workers from overseas, after the Trump administration suspended almost all refugee programs.

One nursing home operator in Sparta invested more than $100,000 in building apartments to house overseas workers – when policy changed, the housing was used for current workers, according to a report in Wisconsin Watch.

“International recruitment is a multi-year strategy, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” Kate Battiato, VP of media and community impact for LeadingAge Wisconsin, told Wisconsin Watch. “One election can change the strategy that has been built over years. … It makes their already difficult challenges recruiting and retaining workers more difficult."...

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Leo's notes: For rural communities, employer-supported housing can be an important recruitment tool, particularly where rental options are scarce. But this experience also illustrates the risk employers assume when they step into housing themselves. Workforce housing strategies work best as part of a broader ecosystem—stable labor pipelines, community housing production and partnerships that leave new homes useful even as employer’s staffing changes occur.

Ken Notes: Wisconsin will be significantly impacted by the elimination or reduction of immigrant programs. The dairy, meat, tourism, health care, and many other industries have relied heavily on foreign labor. This will also impact the housing market. We need to work on programs to improve the immigration workforce - not send them back.