Greetings
Helping Members to Provide the Best Care
Under Workforce Pressures
According to the website, LeadingAge Center for Workforce Solutions, “the population of
adults age 65 and older will increase from 47.8 million in 2015 to 88 million in 2050 and the
nation will need 2.5 million Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) workers by 2030 to keep
up with the growth of America’s aging population.”
Further, the Center for Workforce Solutions explains there are three critical issues that are
caused by an unstable workforce.
1) High provider costs: it’s expensive to continuously recruit and train new workers and to
use temporary contract staff; 2) Concerns about access and quality: a shortage of workers
means that consumers have more problems accessing services. Worker shortages can also
compromise quality of care and quality of life for LTSS consumers; and 3) Poor working
conditions: staff shortages often cause hardships for workers who remain on the job. These
hardships include extreme workloads for both nurses and direct care worker staff, inadequate
supervision, lost time as new workers learn their jobs, and high accident and injury rates.
More workers are currently leaving the LTSS sector than are entering it.
For many LeadingAge New York members finding and keeping key employees is already
challenging. Finding smarter ways to recruit and retain good people is a priority for all
employers in the aging field to meet the increasing workforce challenges. This issue of
LeadingAge NY Adviser looks at some specific issues and ideas for employers as they seek to
manage workforce issues.
Learn how the Governor’s efforts to limit executive compensation affect LeadingAge
NY members and what legal action has been taken on members’ behalf in, Executive
Compensation: A Complicated and Controversial