Spring Summer 2018

The Oregon Caregiver Spring/Summer 2018 www.ohca.com 16 DATA & RESEARCH O regon’s long term care providers consistently say workforce issues are the biggest challenges facing them today. Labor costs make up the lion’s share of provider operating expenses—due to the high utilization and intensity of services they provide. But rising wages and the increasing cost of health insurance benefits add new pressure. Oregon’s minimum wage will again increase on July 1, the second in a series of-mandatory step increases scheduled to take place through 2023. In the Portland Metro area, the new minimum wage will rise from $11.25 to $12.00 an hour—a 30 percent increase since January 1, 2016. The standard hourly rate will increase from $10.25 to $10.75, while non-urban counties (or the more rural and frontier areas of Oregon) will see an increase from $10.00 to $10.50 per hour. While wage growth is badly needed to help combat years of wage stagnation across all industries, these mandatory increases also create upward pressure that compels providers to offer even higher wages to compete for workers. The challenges confronting Oregon’s long term care workforce go far beyond labor costs. Oregon’s low unemployment rate, which remains at the near record low level of 4.1 percent according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is also a challenge. The low unemployment rate is a sign of a healthy economy and is a normal part of the eco- nomic cycle, but it also creates additional pressure for employers to recruit and retain the employees they need. Providers in rural and frontier Oregon face particularly acute challenges. While Oregon’s rural and frontier populations age faster than populations in urban and suburban areas of the state, the shortage of skilled workers to fill jobs in the rural and frontier communities is also growing. One example of this shortage is that, according to the Oregon Board of Nursing, Tillamook and Lincoln counties combined have only 10 licensed certified medication aides (CMAs). Three other Oregon counties have just one registered CMA, while five more—the state’s most frontier counties—have none. Oregon’s Long Term Care Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities By Walt Dawson, Oregon Health Care Association 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% Monthly Rate Unemployment Rate: Oregon & United States Oregon United States “ “Tillamook and Lincoln counties combined have only 10 licensed certified medication aides (CMAs).”