As workforce shortages remain a challenge for home-based care providers, industry stakeholders are finding that combating the issue in a myriad of ways is the best route.
“We consider [workforce] the No. 1 priority in home care and hospice,” Bill Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), said during a panel discussion at the annual Illinois HomeCare & Hospice Council (IHHC) conference on Wednesday. “This is not a new problem. It has just grown in terms of importance, mainly because the need for health care is growing with an aging population.”
In order to alleviate workforce challenges, there are working conditions that need to be addressed. And compensation tops the list, according to Dombi.
“Health care workers, generally, need higher compensation to compete with the jobs they’re being offered,” he said.
Another pressing working condition is access to health insurance for caregivers.
Dombi noted that NAHC has drafted platforms where individuals working in home- and community-based services would be eligible for Obamacare without a premium. Yet so far, the organization has seen no traction on this front.
However, Dombi noted that a number of home-based care-specific education grants and scholarships were underway.
There’s also talk of bringing a Peace Corps or Teach For America model to home care’s underserved areas. For context, the Peace Corps is a government program that trains volunteers to provide relief efforts internationally, and Teach For America is a nonprofit that focuses on strengthening the U.S. education system.
Technology also, undoubtedly, plays a role when it comes to navigating workforce shortages and can be the force that makes life easier for workers in home-based care.
“I think of these remodeling shows that are so prolific, where they come in and take this home that nobody really wants and then, magically, an hour later is perfectly put together,” Mike Carr, senior product manager at Axxess, said during the panel discussion. “They’ve done that by removing barriers, taking down walls and repurposing. They haven’t changed the footprint of the home; they just made it better, and I challenge [providers] to think of their organizations in that same manner.”
This means using technology to remove barriers, which includes everything from a providers’ EMR to a hiring platform.
Providers should also use technology to work around having less staff. One way providers have already begun doing this is through their embrace of telehealth solutions.
The way technology is being used in other sectors can serve as an inspiration for home-based care, according to Carr.
“All of the schools in my area have a pool of potential substitute teachers, and all the people in charge of finding teachers have an app they use,” he said. “They go on the app and choose who they want to fill that role. The technology exists for us to do the same sort of thing with nurses. They just need to be qualified nurses that understand home health and understand your EMR.”
Platforms like that do already exist in home-based care, and money is pouring in from venture capitalists and private equity firm to back them.
Looking ahead, Dombi also stresses the importance of raising the profile of home-based care workers through public awareness campaigns.
“It is tough to take a job that people don’t respect, and if you can bring the respect and increase the image — and we believe COVID has helped do that — we can make some headway,” he said.
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