The State of Maine is facing a shortage of in-home health care providers and some are claiming that the 
reason is due to an increase in demand (for services) as well as low pay and inadequate benefits.
Home health care workers provide an invaluable service to families across the state, yet due to a constant trimming of budgets, there aren?t enough workers to provide care to all patients who need it.
In-home care workers provide a level of care that family members simply cannot meet, with busy work schedules and other family obligations. These home care workers assist elderly and disabled individuals with many basic tasks that some might consider ?normal? but that pose a significant challenge for these patients. Some people may not have a support system that can provide that level of care, especially if they live alone, family members live out of state, or are employed full-time and are unable to attend to them on a regular and consistent basis.
In Maine, -in-home care providers are called personal care aides, or personal support specialists and they comprise one of the fasted growing professions in the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that between 2010 and 2020, there will be an increase in demand for in-home care specialists by at least 71%. This is expected to produce more than 600,000 new jobs across the country.
In Maine, expected job growth through 2018 is 2 percent. However, the demand of home health care providers is expected to increase by 26% during that same period. Maine has an aging population and fewer family members available to care for these individuals, with more men and women working full-time to support their own families.
Currently, it is estimated that 5,760 in-home care workers are employed in the state. An additional 2,100 independent providers are currently employed by Alpha One, the Center for Independent Living in Maine. However, what?s important to note is that the reported turnover rate for these care providers is between 25% and 50%. The turnover rates for nursing home workers is higher, but not by much. One of the key reasons for high turnover rates is the pay and benefits. The average home health care provider in Maine earns $9 per hour.
Many of these workers are part-time, as the needs of the patients in the care of agencies vary from day to day. Most people cannot afford to work part-time hours at that low rate, especially without any benefits for themselves. These low wages and high turnover rates lead to lower quality service to the people who require this care the most.
If Maine wishes to overcome the growing shortage of home health care workers, it is going to need to step up and find a way to increase wages and benefits for the thousands of workers who provide this invaluable services.
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