LeadingAge and the state of New York are taking on the caregiver crisis in two separate initiatives designed to raise awareness of the problem and attract more workers to the industry.
During a webinar Thursday, Jenna Kellerman, LeadingAge director of workforce strategy and development, said the nonprofit’s new Opening Doors initiative will raise awareness on how long-term care fits into the overall healthcare ecosystem and the important role workers in the sector play.
Kellerman said aging service providers need to promote the variety of jobs that contribute to long term care, including accounting, administration and even culinary arts. She also urged the industry to become more visible to children to help build the workforce of the future.
“When you ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, they don’t say they want to work in nursing homes,” Kellerman said. “If we don’t build in the experience for elementary or middle school-aged kids to be around older adults, then they don’t see it in their daily framework and it doesn’t present as an option.”
NY master plan on aging
Also on Thursday, New York State Department of Health Program Director Laura Palmer said Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) soon will be issuing an executive order to develop a master plan on aging that will also address the caregiver shortage. Palmer made the announcement during a virtual summit addressing the state’s caregiver crisis. She said the direct care worker shortage is becoming increasingly dire in New York State as approximately a quarter of the population will be over the age of 60 by the end of the decade.
“We anticipate that through the establishment of a master plan on aging council and a stakeholder advisory committee, the voices of consumers and providers will be heard so that we can develop a set of thoughtful, actionable recommendations that can be implemented over the next decade,” Palmer said during the summit.
Attention to the shortage of direct care workers has intensified in recent days with national home care and hospice associations forming the Home Care Workforce Action Alliance to tackle the issue and lobby Congress for policies addressing it. Earlier this week, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy announced an advisory to address healthcare worker burnout, exacerbated by the shortage of caregivers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects demand for home health aides will grow 33% over the next decade — faster than the average for all occupations. BLS estimates there will be nearly 600,000 job openings for direct care workers each year until 2030.
