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Nationwide Caregiver Shortage Felt By Older Adults

America s aging population suffers as in-home aides can t cover the need for care

ProfessionalStudioImages / Getty Images Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. America is facing a shortage of in-home caregiving aides — professionals who perform a multitude of tasks to help aging people unable to fully care for themselves in their homes, either because they or to supplement family care. That shortage is particularly apparent in Maine, which has the highest percentage of residents 65 and older in the United States. Nearly 11,000 hours of personal care are going unstaffed each week in the state. And at two of its health systems, at least 100 people each week can’t be discharged from hospitals because they won’t get the necessary post-treatment care, according to Jess Maurer, executive director of the Maine Council on Aging. “It’s heartbreaking,” says Betsy Sawyer-Manter, CEO of SeniorsPlus, the designated Area Agency on Aging for western Maine. “Some people simply go without care.” Home health and personal care aides projected job openings, 2018 to 2028 Heather Jones

Need for in-home aids expected to grow dramatically

Maine is not the only state facing a critical caregiving shortage. In Wisconsin, 23,165 caregiving positions are open throughout the state, but only 19,600 people in that state who are not currently in the labor force are looking for work of any kind. At the Area Agency on Aging in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania (total population roughly 215,000), 33 people are on a waiting list for caregiving help. One person has been on that list for a year. , which means in-home caregivers are in high demand, whether paid directly by clients or through , nonprofit organizations, state funding or government programs such as Medicaid. There are nearly 2.3 million such aides in the U.S., but the positions of home health and personal care aides are projected to grow at a rate higher than the average for all occupations over the next decade. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for these jobs will grow by about 25 percent by 2031. More than 700,000 openings for such workers are projected each year, on average, over the next decade. Family Caregiving Savings on in-home caregiving services See more Family Caregiving offers > Many people who can’t get paid caregivers must rely on family and friends to help them with daily tasks. But what happens to people when those people aren’t available? “They get by,” says Kavulich. “And it’s hard. It happens a lot in rural America. We just don’t have the resources.”

Caregiving culture needs to change

And nursing homes don’t appear to be the solution. Some 3 out of 5 U.S. nursing homes have limited new admissions now due to , according to a June survey by the American Health Care Association of 759 nursing home providers. And nearly 3 in 4 are concerned that they may have to close their facilities over staffing problems. “The whole issue of nursing services is also critical,” says Sawyer-Manter, noting that Maine is hurting in this regard too. “We have 1,662 clients that need nursing services, and that equates to 5,000 hours a month that we also can’t staff.” She adds, “What we’ve heard is that some of the home health agencies have stopped taking long-term care clients in their homes because it’s a one-hour visit. It’s not worth their time to send a nurse out. The reimbursement rates are inadequate to cover costs.” AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. , and alternately mixing up the clients so caregivers work with different populations in need of care. “Years ago, I heard that people would go to career centers and say they want to be a direct care worker and would be told that’s a dead-end job. How do we make it a job that is highly valued?” Ann Oldenburg, a former USA Today reporter, is assistant director of Georgetown University’s journalism program. She has a master’s degree from Georgetown’s Aging & Health program. MORE ON CAREGIVING AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Family Caregiving offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Family Caregiving offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS