MADISON, Wis. — A quadriplegic man from Northeast Wisconsin has completed his 125-mile journey by wheelchair to the state Capitol to advocate for better pay and benefits for the state’s struggling caregiver workforce.
“Our home health aides, the heartbeat of our care, are underpaid and undervalued,” Carl Schulze, 44, said.
Schulze set out three weeks ago, traveling roughly two hours each day before running out of battery.
“It’s been a lot harder than I thought it would be, that’s for sure,” he said. “The heat, the logistics of trying to end somewhere safe where my battery ends up — Just a lot of stuff I didn’t think of ahead of time that turned out to be a bit nerve-wracking.”
Along the way, his own experiences made evident the need to bolster the state’s caregiver workforce. On several occasions, caretakers were unable to show up for night shifts to help him out of his chair and into bed, delaying progress on his journey.
“I had to sleep in my chair overnight. If I would’ve rode in my chair the next day, I would’ve probably been at great risk of creating a pressure sore,” he said. “And this is frequent. I mean, at least two or three nights a month I end up in this situation.”
Home caregivers in Wisconsin took home an average of $15.24 an hour in 2023, according to a report by National Core Indicators. On top of that, less than 30% of caregiver agencies in the state said they offered health insurance to some or all their employees.
“When you can go to Kwik Trip and earn $6 more an hour for something that may be significantly less difficult, it creates a disincentive,” Jason Glozier, executive director of the Coalition of Independent Living Centers, said.
The state also offers better pay and benefits to employees at state-run institutions than the average at-home caregiver receives, Glozier said. For some people with disabilities, that can mean choosing between institutionalization or inadequate care at home.
“We don’t have that same obligation to fund community services, the services that people want and the settings where individuals want to be in,” he said.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers last year invested $258 million in federal pandemic relief funds to put in place minimum rate schedules for Medicaid reimbursements to long-term care providers.
The Republican-controlled Legislature agreed to continue that funding in the most recent state budget. The state has also invested in programs to train new caregivers.
But advocates like Glozier say those steps came years too late.
“We know today isn’t really gonna have a huge impact, but I’m getting peoples’ attention, and that’s the important part,” Schulze said. “I’m just motivated for change.”
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