ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
There is a shortage of home health aides affecting families. (CREDIT: WINK News) It is the same search with the same empty results for weeks. Marjorie Buglione-Bone is looking for a home health aide to assist her 90-year-old mother. “With the aide, when she was here, I left with peace of mind. I don’t leave with peace of mind now,” said Buglione-Bone. She called it a revolving door of home health aides for her 90-year-old mother since her previous aide left the job in December. “They really had a beautiful rapport. She got pregnant and she was having her second child and she left in December I believe and it was bittersweet. So another agency,” said Buglione-Bone. “All of a sudden, nobody. So I’d say for the last four weeks, we have no one.” Buglione-Bone said she’s been told staffing shortages are to blame. “Oh it could be 5 minutes, 5 years, I don’t know. We don’t know. Nobody has answers and I find that so difficult to believe. How could you not have an answer to this? It just doesn’t seem right,” said Buglione-Bone. “A lot of people want to stay home and not get put into an assisted living facility and we’re there to help them stay home,” said Mary Toston, an assistant administrator with Granny Nannies of Fort Myers. She confirms there is certainly a shortage. “The demand is there. The workers are hard to get,” said Toston. WINK News connected Buglione-Bone with Bobby Lolley, executive director of the Home Care Association of Florida, a not-for-profit organization advocating for home care providers and their vendors in Tallahassee. “I guess we are turning to you for answers. Help. You know, where do I go from here?” said Buglione-Bone. “This is a huge crisis,” says Lolley. “Are the companies hiring CNAs and HHAs?” asked Buglione- Bone. “Yeah, it’s hard. It’s hard because they have a threshold of how much they can pay,” said Lolley. Low Medicaid reimbursements for providers has meant low wages for certified nursing assistants and home health aides Now, Florida lawmakers are getting involved, investing one billion dollars to bring the minimum wage up to 15 dollars an hour for all health care provider employees. “They have done a lot. But it’s still that that money that has been allocated, has not flown has not flowed to the actual providers so that they can increase rates that sort of stop the hemorrhaging of people leaving,” said Lolley. Lolley suggests paid training by the state to bring in and keep more CNAs. “Anybody who wants to do this, just to sort of open the door and say, you know if training is the issue … we can pay you for that,” said Lolley. “Way back 10, 12, 15 years ago Florida said, ‘We’re going to move people from the institutions back into the home and community. And that’s what we’re going to do.’ People are going to stay at home. We just have to pay the right rate for people to be taken care of in the home.” “You ask any RN in home care, they’ll say, ‘If we could just give three visits, to most seniors, you can make maintain that person in the home for decades’. And three visits from a home health aide, even if it’s a couple of hours, it doesn’t even compare to one day, you know, in a nursing facility or a hospital,” said Lolley. “How long? What can you guess, guesstimate that this money might trickle down?” asks Buglione- Bone. “I’m hoping in the next six months that that that can happen,” said Lolley. Lolley suggested Marjorie contact the provider and request a social worker for her mother’s case. “Big help for me. That was good. That’s probably the biggest help I’ve gotten,” said Buglione-Bone. The Home Care Association of Florida estimates the need for home health aides in Florida will double over the next 10 years to meet the needs of the growing senior population.