Long-term care workers could get a statewide study

In Ohio, the people who bathe, feed, transport and support older adults and people with disabilities would get a dedicated study panel. The Long-term Care Workforce Study Commission would examine how many direct care workers the state has now, how many it will need later and where the data is too thin to guide decisions.

The commission is meant to turn a scattered workforce picture into something lawmakers can use. It would review current demand, project future needs and identify gaps in the numbers on supply, vacancy rates, turnover and expected demand.

The pressure points

The panel would also look at how to bring more people into facility-based care and home- and community-based long-term care. That includes recruitment campaigns, statewide outreach, career ladders and the barriers that keep employers from hiring enough workers.

Education would be part of the answer too. The commission would look at how to fill training needs for direct care workers, including a possible program to help with postsecondary education in related fields.

Ideas on the table

Beyond staffing and training, the commission would be asked to identify ways to improve job quality, increase shared staffing among providers and consider pilot programs such as workforce navigator programs, pooled hours for part-time home care workers and assistive technology for caregivers and the people they serve. For a field that often runs on short staffing and improvisation, the point is to study where the strain starts and what might make the work more sustainable.