Wisconsin's assisted living workforce is 'in crisis'

I'm Hope Karnopp and this is the Daily Briefing newsletter by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Sign up here to get it sent to your inbox each morning .

A very pleasant weather week continues today with a high temperature of 77 degrees. Tomorrow will warm up a bit to 81 degrees, and it'll rise to the mid-80s for the weekend. (Side note: The weather has been absolutely gorgeous for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where reporters on our politics team are based for the week.)

Wisconsin's assisted living workforce is 'in crisis'

Cleo Krejci has the latest installment in her investigative series "The Gray Zone," which uncovers how Wisconsinites in assisted living have increasingly complex medical needs, which facilities aren't prepared for. In her new piece, she looks at why Wisconsin struggles to find and keep assisted living workers.

Low pay is one factor. It's also about a lack of respect for the profession and the tendency to put workers onto the floor without adequate training or staffing levels, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation found — putting both staff and those they are responsible for at risk.

“I’m not going to stay as a direct care worker for $15 an hour if I don’t feel like I know what I'm doing, and I could injure a patient, I could injure myself, when I could go down the road to Sam’s Club and stock shelves or something for the same amount, if not more, and not have that heavy responsibility,” said Kelly Droege, a professor of training and workforce development at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and a former CNA.

Will TCE-contaminated apartments reopen?

Over a year after residents at luxury apartments in Glendale were forced to evacuate due to detection of a harmful carcinogen, the site might soon be considered safe for occupancy . And as local and state authorities review remediation work, former tenants are moving forward with lawsuits over the owner's failure to inform them of health risks.

DNR Field Operations Director Trevor Nobile is tentatively calling the developer's efforts to remove TCE and comply with the DNR a "success story." Several rounds of vapor samples collections and testing cycles have shown TCE levels to be "not detected or well below any screening levels," Nobile said.

The City of Glendale will ultimately determine whether to approve occupancy through permitting. "The city was involved really heavily from the onset of this project," City Administrator Karl Warwick said, but now they are waiting for the DNR and health department's recommendation. "We've been hopeful that this will happen. From our understanding, it should occur relatively quickly."

Don't miss these

• Milwaukee had its moment at the DNC last night: Mayor Cavalier Johnson and two lead pipe removal advocates made brief remarks.
• Brookfield's Common Council voted to not allow absentee drop boxes for the November election , though residents favored the idea.
• A Voces de la Frontera program is helping people through the citizenship process, including studying for the naturalization exam . And you can try our quiz with example questions .
• Vernon County officials opened the door to dismantling 23 flood control dams in the region. Madeline Heim talked to residents about their concerns .
• After a rough rollout on Opening Day, the Brewers will bring back their new parking system on Tuesday .
• It's corn! Here's a list of sweet corn stands in the suburbs, their locations and hours during the peak of the season.

Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@gannett.com or on Twitter at @hopekarnopp .

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's assisted living workforce is 'in crisis'