Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2018 8:07 PM
As we reported here, the shortage of home health aides is a worsening issue and a new report from Mercer, shows that the shortage is going to be greater than anyone had anticipated.
“Half of the top ten jobs expected to grow fastest over the next decade by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are closely tied to home health. And while the BLS estimates health care will produce 2.4 million new jobs by 2026, that number still won’t be nearly enough to satisfy demand, according to the Mercer report.
An example of this problem is the home health aide job. While the Mercer report indicates there will be 423,200 new job openings for home health aides by 2025, there will still be a need for 446,300 home health aides. In fact, there are expected to be substantial shortfalls in several prominent health care jobs. The top five health care job shortfalls, according to the report, are:
- Home health aides (446,300)
- Nursing assistants (95,000)
- Medical and clinical lab technologists (58,700)
- Medical and lab technicians (40,000)
- Nurse practitioners (29,400)”
“Many of the fastest-growing occupations are comparatively low-skill, which means health systems may need to compete with other industry sectors for available talent— especially in areas were such labor can be tight,” reads the report. “At the same time, the training threshold is low for these occupations, so there’s opportunity here to build talent with the right incentives. Regardless, providers will need to address the logistics and risks associated with a lower-skilled workforce. Where demand for high-skill labor remains strong, providers will need to consider how to best attract and retain talent in highly-competitive markets.”
Aging Americans want to stay in their own homes surrounded with family, friends and communities they know. This can be a great opportunity for home health care agencies if they are able to find and keep the appropriate staff.
Source: NAHC Report
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