C-N-As renew call for better pay

A new survey finds almost three-quarters of Iowa’s Certified Nurse Assistants or C-N-As earn less than 10 bucks an hour. Di Findley of the Iowa Caregivers Association says many C-N-As can’t afford health insurance. She says that’s ironic for those who provide the most fundamental health care available.Findley says the two main reasons C-N-As leave the field are low wages and poor benefits. She says the demand for C-N-As has driven up wages, but she says they’re still not high enough to live on.Charlotte Nelson of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women says 96 percent of the Certified Nurse Assistants earn less than 12 bucks an hour.There are 32-thousand Certified Nurse Assistants registered to work in Iowa. Most are women. Just six percent are men. The survey also found Certified Nurse Assistants are assigned to 16 or more patients per day.