National Nursing Home Week Celebration, May 14-20, Highlights Need for More Caregivers
Indianapolis, Indiana (PRWEB) May 05, 2017 -- On May 14, 2017, skilled nursing care centers across Indiana will begin a week of celebration in honor of National Nursing Home Week. The annual recognition is an opportunity for residents and their loved ones, staff, volunteers, and surrounding communities to acknowledge the role of skilled nursing care centers in caring for America’s seniors and individuals with disabilities. This year’s national observance’s theme, “The Spirit of America”, highlights the bond among staff, volunteers and residents that captures the American spirit.
The celebration of the tireless efforts of caregivers in these long term care facilities underscores the significant challenge providers face in filling critical frontline positions. Indiana is no exception to a national staffing shortage in the post-acute care industry. With an aging population, the demand for direct care workers is expected to reach critical levels over the next several decades. By 2050, one-fifth of the total U.S. population will be 65 or older, up from 12 percent in 2000, and the number of people age 85 or older will grow even faster, constituting 4 percent of the population by 2050, or 10 times the percentage in 1950.
In an effort to draw more job seekers to the profession, the Indiana Health Care Association/Indiana Center for Assisted Living (IHCA/INCAL) launched carefortheaging.org, the first website to offer comprehensive information on skilled nursing and assisted living careers in Indiana.
Carefortheaging.org provides information on a range of careers available at skilled nursing and assisted living facilities throughout Indiana, including education requirements, salaries and paths for career advancement. The site also links individuals seeking educational opportunities, internships or job placements with facilities looking to fill those roles.
“As we celebrate National Nursing Home Week, I hope young professionals looking for a career that will give them a sense of purpose will visit the website and visit skilled nursing centers in their communities,” said IHCA/INCAL President Zach Cattell. “They will quickly discover these centers are vibrant places full of rewarding job opportunities.”
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About IHCA/INCAL
The Indiana Health Care Association/Indiana Center for Assisted Living (IHCA/INCAL) is Indiana’s largest trade association and advocate representing proprietary, not-for-profit and hospital-based skilled nursing, assisted living and senior independent living communities. Founded in 1958 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to quality long term care, IHCA/INCAL's more than 350 member facilities care for more than 25,000 of Indiana's citizens in addition to providing rehabilitation services and other short-term care for many more. IHCA/INCAL members provide services to some of the most vulnerable Hoosiers, including geriatric, disabled, chronically ill and developmentally disabled individuals, the majority of whom are low-income Medicaid recipients.
Kate Vaulter, Indiana Health Care Association/Indiana Center for Assisted Living, http://www.ihca.org, +1 (317) 616-9002, [email protected]
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