Did you know that by 2030, 1 out of ever 5 adults will reach retirement age? It might seem like no big deal. After all, generational aging is not a new concept, but right now America is facing a unique crisis that mainly affects those who are, or will soon be in the elderly age bracket.
Two out of every three retirement aged adults will require long term care at some point in their lives, and 20% will need this kind of care for at least five years. The crisis we’re seeing with these statistics is that our long term care facilities or nursing homes are facing an unprecedented staffing shortage, especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic.
In fact, from February of 2020 to January of 2021, nursing home staff ratios fell by 32%, and 62% of those who work in nursing homes have experienced a major increase in stress levels since the beginning of the pandemic.
Naturally, with these staffing shortages, residents of nursing homes are not able to receive the optimal care and their health is suffering. Residents are experiencing less help at mealtimes, fewer bathing opportunities, and more frequent wounds and falls, among other things.
Sadly, there are no simple or quick fixes to this problem, but building better recruitment processes and adding more incentives can be a huge step in increasing staff, thereby increasing quality of care for elderly Americans.
