A month-long special campaign to bolster workforce development began Thursday and will extend through the rest of September. Long-term care leaders are using National Workforce Development Month as an opportunity to share notice of the thousands of work opportunities in the sector and also distribute tools to make employee recruitment and retention easier.
The special observations will showcase “a multitude of LeadingAge resources” that association members can use for staff development, recruitment and retention, and organizational enrichment in a range of care settings and communities, officials explained.
There also will be opportunities for LeadingAge members to learn from other members on topics ranging from career development programs to recruitment initiatives that bring new employees from abroad, that group’s leaders emphasized.
The long-term care profession has lost more than 200,000 employees — some say nearly twice that many — since the beginning of the pandemic and many operators continue to be plagued by severe staffing shortages.
“This month is an opportunity for all Americans to take a moment and consider how each of us wants to age in this country. Policymakers and the administration can make a difference and help older adults and families access critical care and services. But to do it, action is needed on all fronts–from the legislative and executive branches to the communities serving older adults,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit providers of aging services.
LeadingAge members collectively met with staff from more than 60 Congressional offices in July and August in an effort to “keep aging services workforce issues front-and-center as part of the LeadingAge Aging Services Workforce Now campaign.”
Many on-site visits took place in caregiving communities. These are vital for showing lawmakers and their staff members how vital long-term care services and their employees are, as well as for educating the public about the meaningful work opportunities that exist, LeadingAge officials noted.
Public opinion surveys, such as LeadingAge’s Opening Doors to Aging Services research findings, show that a large percentage of Americans just don’t know how they view the aging services sector, the group said. Another recent poll of providers revealed that potential job candidates lack an understanding of the vast career paths and opportunities in long-term care, it added.
“Understanding the many career paths and advancement opportunities is critical as we strive to grow the workforce,” said Sloan. “Every day, dedicated aging services professionals make a real difference in the lives of older adults. So today and throughout September, let’s spread the word about this incredible work, and of the many opportunities for rewarding careers in the aging services sector.”
Examples of workforce development activities undertaken by providers include:
- Perry Lutheran Homes in Iowa, for instance, in partnership with the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), created its “StepUp Career Advancement program” to help employees earn certifications and degrees through promotion, higher education, and tuition reimbursement.
- Cedar Falls, Iowa-based Western Home Communities in June welcomed hospitality interns to the United States through the State Department’s Exchange Visitor Program.
- In Illinois, Chicago Methodist Senior Services created United Methodist Healthcare Recruitment (UMHR) to facilitate the recruitment of 300 Filipino nurses annually; plans call for a pipeline expansion to countries in Africa.
“Let’s take this month to show our appreciation and respect for the critical professionals working in aging services,” Sloan said. “They have always been the heart of how we care for older adults and support families — and we need them more than ever.”
