Addressing Healthcare Workforce Shortages for Rural Healthy Aging Programs

Rural communities face direct care workforce shortages due to low wages, limited benefits, and fewer career advancement opportunities. This shortage impacts the availability of home health aides, residential care aides, and nursing assistants to support healthy aging. Vacancies and turnover rates for direct care staff are increasing. Without long-term care options, family members may need to adjust their work schedules or quit their jobs to take care of their family members. These issues are particularly difficult in rural areas.

As the older adult population is expected to grow significantly over the next few decades, support for the long-term care workforce is needed to meet the needs of older adults. Strategies to improve recruitment, retention, and job quality can include increased staff wages and benefits, offering career advancement opportunities, and professional development.

To address workforce shortages, organizations can create caregiving career ladders via apprenticeship programs and other tools for on-the-job training. Also, promoting caregiving careers to students while still in high school and providing grants and other funding sources to help cover training costs is important to supporting the workforce pipeline in rural areas.

For more information about education and training for rural healthy aging staff, visit the Education and Training of the Rural Healthcare Workforce topic guide.

Resources to Learn More

Rural America is Aging – Without Enough Care Workers
Document
Describes caregiver shortages in rural areas. Highlights the importance of caregiving from family and friends, and policy solutions to support aging in place.
Author(s): Elliott, D. & Mather, M.
Organization(s): Population Reference Bureau
Date: 7/2024

Strengthening the Direct Service Workforce in Rural Areas
Document
Discusses strategies states and rural agencies have implemented to increase the direct service workforce and develop infrastructure to support the rural direct service workforce.
Organization(s): Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Date: 1/2023