Millions of older adults and people living with disabilities rely on the direct care workforce, and the numbers are growing at an enormous rate every single day.  Sadly, we have undervalued the importance of the direct care workforce and ill prepared the critical need to provide  quality of life and quality of care training.  It's time to change the paradigm.

Each May, the Administration for Community Living champions the national observance  of Older Americans Month.  "Communities of Strength" is the theme for 2021.

I can think of no other time in that this theme could be more appropriate as we have witnessed one of the most challenging years in history.  Older Americans have proven to be our source of wisdom, strength, perseverance and a model of overcoming difficulties.   And I will add that the communities that support older adults have risen to the challenges of creating new ways to engage and build even stronger communities in the face of unprecedented challenges brought on by a global pandemic.

The health and well being of older adults, especially is grounded in connecting with others.  It is paramount to the health and well-being of everyone, but especially as we age. 

Aging Services providers are screaming from the mountain tops about the workforce crisis.   Could it be that policy makers are finally listening?

The workforce crisis is about the inability of aging services providers to fill open positions and the lack of competitive wages.

Most definitely,  a hopeful headline announced President Biden's plan investing billions to build an aging services workforce.  

The Value of Excellence in Elder Care

The time is right to seriously discuss the value of quality Elder Care in the United States.  In addition, it is imperative that we intensify  advocacy for improvements to strengthen services and supports for consumers.  Moreover,  we must enhance jobs for 4.6 million home care workers and nursing assistants.