November has been designated as Nursing Home Caregiver Professionals and Long Term Care Provider Month in California by the the legislature.

California’s skilled nursing facilities employ 136,000 professionals, of which 47,000 direct caregivers provide institutional care to the state’s most vulnerable residents. Seniors, adults and children with disabilities rely on the workforce to maintain their physical, mental and psychosocial well being.

The number of seniors requiring long-term care will dramatically increase as the number of Californians 65 years of age or older is estimated to grow to nine million people in California in the next 15 years, said State Sen. Isadore Hall, III, who authored the bill.

“Nursing home and long-term care professionals are truly some of California’s greatest unsung heroes,” Hall said. “This bill brings important attention to the incredible and compassionate care these professionals provide and the need to provide them with a dignified living wage that respects their critical work.”