Higher pay alone won’t get people to be health aides
Direct care workers (also known as caregivers or home health aides) are the heart and soul of the senior care industry.
I know this as the owner of Senior Matters Home Health Care, a small nonmedical agency.
Without care workers, there is no senior care industry.
Unfortunately, the field has long had difficulty attracting and retaining a reliable workforce. The reasons are many, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the issue.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 or older. Many will eventually require care, and trends suggest that more and more will choose to age at home rather than move into retirement communities or longterm care facilities.
This looming reality presents an opportunity for those serving the senior sector to step up and correct issues that have historically prevented potentially excellent direct care workers from entering the field.
But how, with the poor reputation the care field has earned among many in the workforce, do we win over prospective employees and convince them that there is real potential to grow a direct care job into a rewarding career?
Of course, offering competitive starting pay and signing bonuses are obvious first steps, but these incentives seldom serve to build long-term job loyalty on their own.
The key to attracting and keeping those best suited to direct care work is cultivating a culture of encouragement where possibilities outnumber problems.
This can take the practical form of providing training and continuing education opportunities that enable workers to strengthen existing skills and gain new ones, thus increasing their potential to earn a higher income, as well as broader concepts like community connect programs that link employees with area professionals who can provide guidance on banking and money management, education and wellness.
Our mission at Senior Matters Home Health Care is to ensure that those facing the challenges of aging and illness can remain in the comfort of their homes while receiving the quality of care they need and deserve.
Unfortunately, the direct care workforce shortage makes this increasingly difficult. There is hope in the form of the Build Back Better Act, which promises a much-needed program to support inhome health care. But America’s seniors and others with special needs cannot wait on Washington.
If the senior care industry is to build a capable, reliable and stable workforce to serve our aging population into the future, it must act now. It must reevaluate how it views and relates to those who take on this essential work and provide them with the tools and support they need to build rewarding, living-wage careers and the respect they deserve as professionals doing vital, challenging work.
Doing so will serve these workers, the seniors in their care, the industry and the economy well.
Kathleen Carmody owns and operates Senior Matters Home Health Care, a Columbus-based agency that provides in-home care and personalized support to seniors at every level of need.