The US Department of Labor projects that the two fastest growing occupations between 2010 and 2020 will be Personal Care Aides and Home Health Aides.  The need for home caregivers will grow by more than 70% during this decade.

A recent article in Bloomberg Business Week talks about how much our industry will need to increase the pay of caregivers to meet the growing need.  The article also talks about the impact of removing the Federal Companionship Exemption from minimum wage and overtime.

Looking at the growth patterns for employment in our country, seven of the fifteen fastest growing occupations are in health care, and six of the seven are para-professional jobs.  That suggests that owners of private duty home care businesses and home health agencies will need to begin right now to work on new strategies for recruiting, selecting, training, paying, and retaining the caregivers and health care professionals.  You can’t wait.  Now is the time to begin working on more effective ways to find and keep the team members you need to grow your business.

At Leading Home Care, we recognized this trend back in 2005, and created the Caregiver Quality Assurance program to address the need.  Staff shortages slowed down after the economic decline of 2008, and they are just beginning to return.  We are hearing reports of staff shortages in many locations around the country, and home care companies are putting a new focus on recruiting and retention.  For ongoing support and education for your recruiters, scheduling coordinators, and supervisors, you will want to consider becoming a member of Caregiver Quality Assurance.