Driving through New England this past weekend, I was struck by the number of “help wanted” and “we’re hiring” signs across dozens of storefronts and billboards advertising job fairs for many types of businesses. All I kept thinking about was how senior care facilities were faring across the country with finding help. Not only that – qualified help.
We know that senior care jobs paying somewhere just above minimum wage can be difficult, emotionally draining and receive little positive recognition from the public. So higher overall wages and hiring bonuses could easily sway a chunk of the labor force to other industries and away from senior care, which will need many more hands as facilities refill. Could labor scarcity slow the census recovery? That would be a nightmare, especially heading into the holidays and another long winter.
Higher wages will have to be part of the solution – I know, easy for us to say – and margins may take a permanent hit as a result. Not to mention providers are already dealing with higher insurance costs, food costs and continued infection control expenditures. But we have to make clear there are advantages to working in this industry. After all, it can be rewarding work with an attractive career path. If lack of staff soon prevents new move-ins, we imagine some solutions may be found quickly.
