The nation’s aging population is raising the demand for long-term care, whether in nursing homes or, increasingly, in assisted living facilities and home-based care. Five million Americans are now over 85, and as Baby Boomers enter old age in the next several decades, the elderly population is expected to grow rapidly. Many will likely experience frailty and dependence due to multiple, complex chronic illnesses and disabilities, affecting their mobility and requiring the assistance of others to dress, bathe, and eat. Yet unless long-term care providers can attract and retain a highly qualified workforce, they will be hard pressed to serve the elderly with quality, affordable care.
Regardless of the setting, elderly patients primarily receive assistance from direct care workers who hold many different job titles—nursing assistant, personal care aide, resident assistant, home health aide—but have common responsibilities. Direct care jobs are expected to increase by 35 percent over the next decade. By 2018, an additional one million workers will be needed. In particular, personal and home care aides and home health aides are projected to be the nation’s third and fourth fastest-growing occupations through 2018. Growth among the oldest and frailest Americans (over 85) is expected to raise demand for nursing assistants and physical therapy assistants, as well as additional licensed professions, such as nursing and medical social workers.
Jobs to Careers helped long-term care providers develop a “grow your own” workforce solution to address these challenges. Through Jobs to Careers, frontline employees built skills necessary for their jobs. In turn, they received immediate financial rewards and qualified to advance to new positions. Long-term care facilities built and retained talented and committed employees, while bolstering a workplace culture that supports professional development, mentorship, and collaboration. And patients received higher-quality care and services, delivered by a high-quality workforce.
