Here’s a summary of the recent LeadingAge national discussion with Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist with EMSI Burning Glass, who wrote about the challenges created by aging baby boomers – they are leaving the workforce and concurrently arriving at the need for aging services. There are not enough people in subsequent generations to serve them. Ron believes that families are going to have to get more involved in providing care to their aging relatives because there aren’t enough staff. He suggested the country needs immigration solutions. He further suggested that provider organizations (and all employers) look outside the box for solutions that haven’t been tried before. For instance, he said when you find a candidate, act quickly; have your senior leaders, even your CEO, offer the position. He also said it might be wise to see if people who want to work less than full time could split a position. Ron says he does not think the easier availability of health insurance provided by the ACA was encouraging younger people not to work.
