WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and assisted living communities across the country that provide care to approximately five million people each year, released a statement today ahead of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee
hearing, “Examining Health Care Workforce Shortages: Where Do We Go From Here?”
The following statement is attributable to Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL:
“We appreciate members of the Senate HELP Committee holding this important hearing. The pandemic has taken a physical and emotional toll on our health care workers, especially our nation’s long term caregivers. Even after taking unprecedented steps to support our workforce, nursing homes have experienced the worst job loss of any health care sector. After three years of the pandemic,
84 percent of providers are still facing moderate or high levels of staffing shortages. At our current pace of moderate job growth, we will not return to pre-pandemic workforce levels until
2027.
“For years we have called on our nation’s leaders to help us address long term care’s workforce challenges. As historic labor shortages continue to limit seniors’ access to care, inaction is no longer an option. An unfunded federal staffing mandate, as has been proposed, will only make the situation worse. What is needed instead are
meaningful investments and programs that will help nursing homes compete for caregivers, address nationwide nursing shortages, and ensure we have a strong workforce for a growing elderly population. We stand ready to work with Members of Congress on comprehensive solutions that will better support and strengthen the long term care workforce.”