一项新的研究发现，美国拟对移民做出的限制可能会加剧该国照顾老人和残疾人的员工出现短缺。
More than three million immigrants work within the U.S. healthcare system. That represents 18 percent of all health care workers. Nearly 25 percent of care providers in nursing homes nationwide are immigrants. Nursing homes care for elderly adults and people with a physical disability or long-term health disorder.
超过300万移民在美国医疗保健系统内工作，占到了全部医护人员的18%。全美国养老院中近25%的护理人员是移民。养老院负责照顾老人、残疾人或是长期病患。
Doctor Leah Zallman is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. She was the lead writer of a report on the study. The report appeared earlier this month in the publication Health Affairs.
Leah Zallman博士是马萨诸塞州哈佛医学院的一名医学教授，也是该研究报告的主要作者。这篇报告于本月早些时候发表在《健康事物》刊物上。
Zallman said, "We rely heavily on immigrants to care for the elderly and disabled, particularly in their everyday care."
Zallman表示：“我们非常依赖移民来照顾老年人和残疾人，尤其是照顾他们的日常生活。”
To take a closer look at the importance of immigrants in the healthcare system, Zallman and other researchers examined the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the 2018 Current Population Survey.
为了进一步了解移民在医疗保健系统内的重要性，Zallman和其他研究人员审查了2018年当期人口调查的社会经济年度附录。
The survey found that 1 million workers in the long-term healthcare industry were immigrants. That represents 23.5 percent of total workers in such jobs.
调查发现长期医疗行业中有100万员工是移民，占到了这类工作全部员工的23.5%。
Zallman noted that immigrants are especially likely to work overnight hours. "This is an industry that needs people round-the-clock," she said. "They [immigrants] are really filling the gaps."
Zallman指出，移民尤其可能上夜班。她说：“这个行业需要人们夜以继日地工作，移民们确实填补了这一缺口。”
In 2017, more than 27 percent of direct care workers were immigrants. The study defined "direct care work" as nurses, home health aides or home care aides. Such workers help with everyday activities like helping people eat meals, put on clothes, and wash up.
2017年，超过27%的直接护理工作人员是移民。该研究将直接护理工作人员定义为护士、家庭健康助理或家庭护理助手。这类员工协助日常活动，例如帮助人们吃饭、穿衣和洗漱。
Nurses and health aides perform other duties, such as taking a patient's blood pressure and offering range-of-motion exercises.
护士和健康助理还履行其它职责，例如给患者量血压以及提供关节活动度练习。
Home care aides may help clean a patient's home and cook food for them. They do not perform medical tasks.
家庭护理助手可以帮助患者打扫房屋和做饭，他们不执行医疗任务。
The elderly population in America is expected to double by the year 2050. Workers who are prepared to care for elderly or disabled patients are already in short supply, the researchers noted.
到2050年，美国老年人口预计将会翻倍。研究人员指出，照顾老人或残疾患者的合格员工已经供不应求。
The Health Resources and Services Administration predicts a 34-percent rise in the demand for direct care workers over the next 10 years.
美国卫生资源和服务管理局预计未来10年对直接护理工作人员的需求将会增加34%。
Last month, the administration of President Donald Trump proposed legislation that would reduce the number of legal immigrants while placing more importance on educated, skilled immigrants. Such changes, the report noted, "could sharply reduce the number of low-wage immigrant workers.”
上个月，川普政府提出立法，将会在减少合法移民数量的同时更加重视受过教育的、有技术的移民。报告指出，这种改变“可能会大幅减少低工资移民工人的数量。”
Albert Wu is a doctor and professor of health policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Maryland. He called the new study "very important and timely."
Albert Wu是马里兰州约翰霍普金斯公共卫生学院卫生政策的博士和教授。他称这项新研究“非常重要和及时。”
Wu said, "The current proposal to restrict immigration to more skilled or professional applicants runs directly counter to the need for this category of work."
Wu表示：“目前把移民限制在有技能或专业申请人的建议，跟这类工作的需求背道而驰。”
I'm Ashley Thompson.
我是阿什利·汤普森。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)