Although previous research has demonstrated a paucity of standards in most states, a few have engaged in a rational approach to designing personal care aide (PCA) training standards with the goal of better preparing these essential frontline workers to provide care. This research brief highlights 7 “leader states” in training standards for Medicaid-funded personal care…
Personal care assistants (PCAs) provide support that enables older adults and individuals with disabilities to remain in home and community settings. This study characterizes the role played by family members and non-family PCAs in California’s Medicaid program, which oversees the nation’s largest consumer-directed personal care assistance program. We describe factors that affect turnover among PCAs,…
An imminent question for health workforce planners is how an increasingly diverse US elderly population and a greater use of home and community-based services will affect demand for long-term care workers. In this article, researchers use national surveys to analyze current use of long-term care and the current long-term care workforce, and project demand for…
In the past decade, the health care industry, and long-term care (LTC) in particular, saw substantial job growth. In anticipation of growing demand for LTC due to an aging demographic, employment opportunities in LTC are expected to surpass those of other US sectors. Workforce planners are concerned about ensuring an adequate pipeline of appropriately trained…
Peer providers are individuals hired to provide direct support to those undertaking mental health (MH) or substance use disorder (SUD) recovery, often referred to in the literature as “consumers.” The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines a peer provider as “a person who uses his or her lived experience of recovery from…
As health systems continue to evolve toward more managed care models, care coordinators are playing an increasingly important role in ensuring that people with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (ADRD) receive appropriate, well-coordinated, and cost-effective care. Research has shown that effective care coordination and referral to services and supports for patients with ADRD and their…
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines a peer provider as “a person who uses his or her lived experience of recovery from mental illness and/or addiction, plus skills learned in formal training, to deliver services in behavioral health settings to promote mind-body recovery and resilience. Peer providers have traditionally worked as…
Licensed practical nurses (LPNs), referred to as licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) in some states, are the second-largest health care occupation that requires postsecondary education. More LPNs work in long-term care (LTC) than in any other sector. Demand for LPNs among long-term care providers is expected to increase substantially over the next several decades. Thus, there…
As the aging population increases, the need for palliative care to address serious and chronic illnesses has also increased. However, there is little research on whether palliative care programs meet national staffing guidelines. This article describes an analysis of self-reported operational data on hospital-based palliative care programs from the 201213 annual voluntary surveys of the…
Mobile integrated healthcare-community paramedicine (MIH-CP) is a new model of care that allows for a broader range of services in the community than more traditional emergency responses that often involve transporting patients to emergency departments. There is growing but limited evidence that suggests MIH-CP has potential to improve outcomes for patients needing long-term care (LTC)….
