The Senior Resources Agency on Aging has released a report titled “When No One Cares: Why We Need to Save Connecticut’s Direct Care Workforce” (pdf) that argues for increased investment in the state’s direct-care workforce in order to ensure access to quality care.

“Folks, we’re brewing the perfect storm,” said Lisa Reynolds, one of the report’s authors. “If you don’t have the staff, you can’t serve the clients. And if you can’t serve the clients, then you don’t have a business” (“Aging population, health worker shortage creating ‘perfect storm,’ advocates say,” Norwich Bulletin, May 22).

Reynolds was referring to the report’s finding that low pay and insufficient benefits have led to a situation in which more than half of existing home health aides say they want to leave the profession, right when the need for long-term care is exploding.

Projections show Connecticut’s elderly population increasing 69 percent by the year 2030, while the direct-care workforce is expected to decline 10 percent during the same period.

The report’s findings build on conclusions made in the Connecticut Long-Term Needs Assessment, a study published in 2007 and funded by the state legislature.

That study found that “the combination of growing numbers of older adults and declining numbers in the working age population will exacerbate an existing crisis in the ability to provide needed care, and to give people appropriate choices in how they receive that care” (“Crisis in Aging: More Seniors, Fewer Workers Threaten the Ability of Connecticut’s Seniors to Stay Home,” PR Web, May 20).

Providers and those who train direct-care workers expressed concern about the problem.

Brian Clinton became the coordinator of allied health programs at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich in September, and has seen enrollment in the college’s CNA program triple in the succeeding eight months. But he says these numbers don’t necessarily indicate that the problem is solved. “A lot of caring people are attracted to [direct-care work],” he says. “But when they get into it, they run into a lot of problems” that contribute to high turnover rates, including low pay, lack of transportation, and a failure to have out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed.

Mike Wolak, director of Connecticut’s Rose City Senior Center, agrees that low job quality is leading to a major direct-care crisis. “Down the road it’s going to be a huge problem,” he said while attending the forum. “[Direct care is] a thankless job. There needs to be more money and more incentives.”

In a May 16 letter to the Norwich Bulletin, RN and family caregiver Ellen DeGaetano emphasized the personal importance of the mounting crisis for everyone, regardless of age or position: “No matter if you’re young or old, rich or poor, at some time during your life you’ll require someone to care for you. . . . No one can afford to assume services will be available when you or a loved one needs them.”

As part of its work with the national Direct Service Workers Resource Center, PHI is working with Connecticut state officials to identify programs across the state that are training direct-care workers.

Amy Robins, who is leading the project for PHI, says, “This effort will help the state of Connecticut take informed steps towards addressing the looming workforce shortage.  As the population ages and demand for home and community-based services increase, the state needs to prepare more caregivers to provide services in a variety of settings. This initiative is an important first step toward that goal.”