2022 Oregon Long Term Care State Report www.ohca.com 14 Economic Impact, Affordability, and Workforce The long term care sector provides significant employment opportunities in Oregon, especially for women, who make up a majority of the long term care workforce. Yet, recruiting and retaining the large number of professionals required to provide highquality care for aging Oregonians is a major challenge. The sector must cultivate a pipeline of talent as demand for long term care services and supports grows. Providers in rural Oregon face particularly acute challenges as populations in these areas have, sometimes significantly, proportionately more older adults than in urban and suburban areas of the state. However, the number of workers is not increasing in these areas making it difficult for long term care facilities to find enough qualified caregivers and medical staff. More than 65,000 Oregonians are employed in the long term care sector. This includes approximately 49,600 Oregonians employed in assisted living, residential care, and nursing facilities—a slight decline from a peak of just over 52,000 in 2019.14 The decline is due to COVID-19’s impact on the workforce. Despite the nearterm decline, Oregon’s long-term care workforce will increase rapidly in the years ahead to serve our aging population; however, significant efforts will need to be made to ensure the workforce is trained and available to support care needs. In particular, the demand for home health aides and personal care aides will both increase by 29% while the demand for registered nurses will increase by 15% by 2028.15 Women make up a majority of the long term care workforce (81% female versus 19% male) in Oregon. Very little variation exists in the gender distribution of the workforce across nursing facilities, community-based care, and in-home care sectors. The high proportion of women employed in long term care communities in Oregon is comparable to that of the overall long term care workforce in the United States. Oregon’s long term care workforce is growing increasingly diverse. People of color make up a slightly larger share of the workforce than of the general population in Oregon. Approximately 31% of Oregon’s long term care workforce are people of color, compared with approximately 25% of the general population. There is some variation in workforce demographics across long term care settings in Oregon. The age of the long term care workforce is another important issue to consider. More than 29% of Oregon’s home care workforce is 55 years of age or older, while 11% of the workforce is over the age of 65. As many of Oregon’s nursing professionals approach retirement, this may add additional pressure on filling these important positions in the years ahead. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the need for nurses will grow by as much as 15% by 2028.16 Affordability of Care The affordability of long term care is an important equity issue. Most people who need long term care services and supports will require Medicaid at some point to help them pay for their care needs. As Oregon approaches one million adults 65 years of age and older, this raises many questions about access to care. Fortunately, Oregon offers robust Medicaid long term care services and supports access compared to many other states. However, stringent standards of eligibility mean that many middle-income Oregonians do not have adequate coverage or savings to fund their long term care needs and must spend down their savings to Medicaid eligibility. 38,000 40,000 42,000 44,000 46,000 48,000 50,000 52,000 54,000 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Employment in Oregon Nursing Facilities and Residential Care: 2011-2021 Source: Oregon Employment Department, 2022. Source: Oregon Employment Department (2022).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTY1NDIzOQ==