Washington state eldercare workforce capacity assessment: Baseline study

In 2008, the Institute of Medicine reported that the U.S. is not prepared to meet the health care and social support needs of its growing elder population. The number of older adults will almost double between 2005 and 2030, yet the health and social services workforce—the eldercare workforce—is inadequately sized and trained even now. These concerns are mirrored in Washington State, where adults age 65+ will increase from one of every eight adults currently to one of every six by 2018. Eldercare workforce concerns include supply, training, pay, and worker retention. This pilot study is the first phase of an overall project with the ultimate goal of developing and supporting a statewide collaborative work group to address gaps in eldercare workforce capacity in Washington State. The objectives of the baseline study are: 1) Discover, assess, and aggregate generally available information and data about the types of providers comprising the eldercare workforce in Washington State, current and anticipated demand for this workforce over the short and long term, current and anticipated gaps in workforce capacity, and current policy approaches to address capacity gaps; 2) Assess interest among key stakeholders in Washington State for developing and participating in a statewide collaborative process to address gaps in eldercare workforce capacity, 3) Participate in and advise the UNCG Eldercare Workforce Initiative, including providing support for planning and logistics for a national eldercare workforce colloquium; and 4) actively disseminate findings of the study to key stakeholders in Washington State and interested national organizations.