WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Wisconsin Advocates Stress Caregiving Shortage in Media Push
By Patrick Connole
more than one-quarter of caregiver jobs in the state vacant, the long simmering talk of a growing workforce shortage for those in care of the elderly seemed to hit home as the media across the state and even on the national level picked up on the news. Michael Pochowski, president and chief
W
executive officer, Wisconsin Assisted Living Association, the Argentum affiliate in the state, said the report crystalized what is a true crisis in the senior living sector. “There is some nuance here, but our members and providers in the state and across the country are doing a tremendous job in continuing to provide high-quality care and services to residents. But the way they are doing it is difficult, with current staff having to take on multiple shifts, as well as management doing their own work and that of caregivers at times to fill the void,” he said. “People are working a lot; a lot more than
they expected and are getting burned out. We need to figure out how to address that and get more people working in the senior living profession.”
Money Helps but Is Not a Cure-All Wisconsin has had some success in getting more dollars to the workers who need it most, notably Pochowski said in the form of a program for the direct-care workforce that bumped up wages under a Medicaid waiver program. “You have to be in the program, but it has acted as a huge lifeline for providers to be able to enhance and increase caregiver wages,” he said. Looking to what may work at the federal level, Pochowski said despite immigration be-
hen Wisconsin long-term care advocates came out with a re- port this summer that showed
ing a hot-topic issues, it would seem logical to get more people working in the state and country through some reform legislation. But there is nothing imminent on that front. What is doable now, he said, is for se-
nior living communities to be creative in seeking staff and retaining those already on the job. Flexible work hours, daycare options for parents working in the commu- nity, transportation alternatives, and other perks all should be in the mix.
Where Are They? The big question that the report did not exactly answer is what happened to all the workers who used to form a pool of candi- dates in past years when openings occurred. Pochowski has his opinion on the mat-
ter, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic may have chased away potential employ- ees when the country was shutdown – re- alizing they did not need two jobs. Or they did not want jobs they could not perform on a remote basis. “Where have they gone? We have been
trying to figure that out, too, even prior to COVID it was bad, but the pandemic made it worse. We and the other long- term care associations do a survey every two years, the report we put out, and every time we do it, the job vacancy rates get worse,” he said.
Remote work of
course is not an option for senior living. Care means being in the community and present. This leaves some young- er workers potentially out of the recruitment pool, Pochowski said. While there are not
precise statistics, he noted that caregiver jobs are the toughest to fill, since the assignment takes a special kind of person and is not for everybody. But there are openings across the board from executive director roles to health and wellness leads to nurses.
Michael Pochowski President and CEO Wisconsin Assisted Living Association
Taking Action The crisis in finding and keeping workers is not for the faint of heart, it will take time to get a better flow of job seekers in the senior living profession, and that is why Pochowski said his group is working to get in front of audiences as young as the middle school level to explain what senior living is, and how it is a great option with lots of career progression. “We have some excellent career paths to of-
fer. There are a number jobs and we want to let people at those younger ages, high school, and in college know about it,” he said.
People are working a lot; a lot more than they expected and are getting burned out. We need to figure out how to address that and get more people working in the senior living profession.
42 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
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