McKnights Senior Living

As a kickoff to Caregivers Month, President Biden spoke Tuesday about the “care economy” at Washington, DC’s Union Station, celebrating the contributions of care workers across the country. Senior living industry advocates, however, said they need help recruiting and retaining those workers in an industry that lost more than 400,000 jobs during the pandemic — 110,000 in the assisted living industry alone, according to Argentum.

“Dedicated caregivers are the backbone of assisted living, providing the person-centered care that improves the health and well-being of 1.4 million seniors today,” Argentum Senior Vice President of Public Policy Maggie Elehwany told McKnight’s Senior Living. “We encourage the president to work with Congress to pursue policies to ease the healthcare workforce shortage.”

Last spring, Biden’s executive order on strengthening the care economy was deemed by industry advocates to be well-intentioned but inadequate in offering solutions for senior living and other long-term care providers.