Home healthcare aides vital to area

SANDUSKY — There's a shortage of healthcare professionals and it could be the difference between whether a loved one maintains independence or is forced into an assisted living facility. "What I've been seeing is there's a shortage of people willing to work in the home health care field," said Sue Daugherty, the director of Serving Our Seniors.Nursing assistants and home healthcare aides are vital for people to be able to maintain their independence as they age or if they're living with a disability of some kind."As we age many people begin to lose their capacity to function," Daugherty said. "Things they used to be able to do when they were younger becomes difficult and that's where we rely on nursing assistances."Depending on the severity, some people need to be in a permanent care facility, but others can continue to live at home if they have a nursing assistant to help them with the tasks they can no longer perform. But there aren't enough people working in the field.A study conducted by the the Mercer's Workforce Strategy & Analytics practice estimated there would be a shortage of 446,300 home health aides and 95,000 nursing assistants by 2025."This staffing issues isn't unique to our area but the rapidly aging population in our county certainly makes the challenge greater here," said Valerie Kay, owner of Home Instead Senior Care in Port Clinton.The lack of interest from people to join the field is caused by the scarcity of incentives and competitive pay to entice people to seek an entry level career in the medical field. Starting pay can range anywhere from $7 to $10 an hour, making it difficult for people to earn a living or pay the bills. "The pay is not very competitive you can make more money working at a fast food restaurant than you can as healthcare aide," said Ohio Rep. Steve Arndt, R-Port Clinton. "What we find is that the people who are doing it, do it because they find it rewarding."Developing the workforceIf a nursing aide is being paid with reimbursements through Medicaid then they must be a state tested nursing assistant or a certified nursing aide. The Sandusky Career Center offers a nursing assistant program which is 86 hours with 10 classroom days and two clinical days.Once the program is completed attendees are eligible to take the State Tested Nursing Assistant exam. The career center also has scholarships in place to help people pay for the classes.The tools are available locally to fill the shortage, but the problem remains of how to get people interested in the field. The nursing aide field offers valuable experience to people looking to eventually move up the medical industry, Daugherty said."STNA is a good way for people to test the waters to see if nursing is for them before they try to get their RN," said Jessica Salisbury, the RN supervisor for the Meadows at Osborne in Huron.A graph depicting the decline of the number of Serving Our Seniors clients who have an at home health aide. The fiscal year starts in July and ends in June of the numbered year."For many people it's a starting point they work as aides while they become registered nurses," Arndt said. "The health sector is pretty recession proof it's just about trying to find the right people for the jobs."Serving Our Seniors is also working on ways to create incentives to attract people to the field since an increase in reimbursement rates from Medicaid is unlikely.Daugherty said she and Arndt have talked about seeing if they could repurpose old county vehicles to be transportation for nursing aides. She's also been looking to see if there's grant money available to provide incentives to nursing aides."Could those grant funds be used to purchase gasoline cards for individuals or could they be used for scholarships to pay for training?" Daugherty asked, hoping the answer she'll get is "yes."Places like Home Instead Senior Care don't receive reimbursements from Medicaid and are able to hire people and train them in-house. "We don't require they be certified. We certainly welcome it, but it's not necessary," Kay said. "I think part of the problem in our industry is the belief that it is necessary ... The most important skill we're looking for is emotional intelligence."Home care providers are needed to help seniors with simple tasks of daily living and most of their serious medical needs are filled by other services, according to Home Instead.Nearly 1,300 elderly and disabled adults like Elvira Tesarek, shown May 2, 2011 taking a walk with CNA Donna Cosimini-Cory at her Warren, Rhode Island home, have been able to leave Rhode Island nursing facilities or avoid them altogether under a pilot program designed to cut spending in Medicaid, the federal-state health plan for the poor. Instead of costly institutional care, Medicaid pays for a nurse's aide, a speech therapist and a registered nurse to visit Tesarek at home to help with her recovery from a stroke. The program's block-grant-like funding has attracted national attention from conservative groups that want to cut state Medicaid spending. (Jay Reiter/MCT) The tasks home care providers do include companionship, transportation, meal preparation and other services that would be too dangerous for a senior to do themselves. When an applicant passes the screening, they're trained by the agency in senior care, relationship building, safety and prevention."It's not that they aren't out there, it's just that it's difficult for us to connect with those who are best suited for this type of work," Kay said.Home Instead has started to try to increase interest in the field from retirees looking for a second career with their UnRetire Yourself campaign.Kay believes the best people for the job are the one's who aren't searching for a career, but retirees and empty-nesters who are already volunteering at churches and hospices because they want to help."The sweet spot for recruitment are those who aren't looking for work," Kay said. "They don't realize that there's work out here that is both meaningful and rewarding."Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterJessica Salisbury, the RN supervisor for The Meadows at Osborn Park, dispense medication for the residents of the nursing home on Friday, Feb. 1.Stephen Littleton, a state tested nursing assistant, fills out his charts at the The Meadows at Osborn Park on Friday, Feb. 1.