You may have heard from many of your post-acute and home healthcare
customers about the difficulties hiring workers in this space. But did
you know this is part of a national trend?
Demand for home healthcare workers is expected to outpace supply over
the coming decade. Demand for home healthcare aides is expected to grow
by 63 percent by 2023, according to a HIDA analysis of data from the
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). Demand for personal care aides is
projected to rise by 56 percent during the same period. Meanwhile,
separate research suggests that over 446,000 home health aide positions
will be unfilled by 2025.
Here are some key factors driving this trend:
- Aging population. The U.S. population is continuing
to age, and will drive demand for home healthcare services. In 2016,
49.2 million Americans were aged 65 and over, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau. By 2020, this figure will reach 56.1 million, rising to
73.1 million in 2030 and 80.8 million in 2040.
- Low pay. Home healthcare continues to be paid among
the lowest-paid professions in the United States. Home health aides
earned $23,210 on average in 2017, while personal care aides earned
$23,210 on average that year. By comparison, janitors earned $24,990 on
average.
- High turnover. Between 2016 and 2026, 125,000 home
health aides will quit their jobs, with 68,500 leaving the field
entirely, according to a HIDA analysis of BLS data.
What does this mean for your customers?
Providers
everywhere are looking to do more with less, and this is especially
true in the home healthcare segment. Any time clinical staff spends
working on problems that do not directly involve a patient is time that
the organization is not getting paid for. Anything you can do to free up
time will benefit and help the organization’s bottom line. There are a
several ways distributor reps can help:
Make product recommendations. Point your customers
to products that are easy to use or transport, ones that improve patient
care and are simple to learn. By expertly deploying your knowledge of
the products your company carries, you can help your customers select
the products and services that are right for them.
Offer logistics expertise. If your home healthcare
customers are struggling to manage their inventory space, show them ways
to make the most of their limited time and storage space.
Consider customized delivery options. Deliveries to
satellite offices or directly to patients’ homes reduce the amount of
time home healthcare employees spend in transit, making their lives
easier and increasing the time they can devote to patient care.
As HIDA’s research shows, ongoing worker shortages are going to make
life more difficult for home healthcare workers. As a rep, you have the
opportunity to alleviate these challenges with your insight, experience,
and expertise. Helping these providers do more with less will make you a
trusted and valuable partner during challenging times.
From http://www.repertoiremag.com/home-healthcare-providers-to-face-worker-shortages.html