By 2030, all baby boomers will have reached 65 years of age, which makes one in five people in the United States aged 65 years or over. With such a high share of the population elderly (in comparison, the share of the elderly population was roughly one in 20 in 1930), the need for long-term care (LTC) is greater than ever. Assisted living is a type of long-term care in which adults, mostly older than 75 years, receive help with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, dressing, or toileting. Meal and laundry services are usually available as well as social activities. With over one million
Staff shortages
Staff shortage was already a critical problem in the LTC industry before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite the assisted living workforce having recovered better than other LTC sectors, nearly two-thirds of providers still reported moderate to high levels of
staffing shortage in 2022 and nearly half were
concerned this would lead to facility closures. Understaffing causes financial stress or burnout of over-worked personnel and leads to avoidable injuries, illnesses, and even deaths of senior residents. To address the issue of labor shortage in nursing homes, the federal centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) mandated new nursing staff minimums in nursing homes starting in April 2024. Assisted living communities, on the other hand, are licensed and regulated by state governments with large variations and often must follow only vague regulations such as ‘sufficient staff’.
Cost of care
Prices for a private bedroom in assisted living facilities (ALF) have been increasing through the years at much higher rates than inflation, landing at 64,200 U.S. dollars annually in 2023. That is almost a 70 percent increase since 2010. Despite this,
wages for ALF workers such as, personal care aides, home health aides, and nursing assistants, have increased minimally from 12.28 U.S. dollars per hour in 2010 to 17.15 U.S. dollars in 2023. Such facts make it unsurprising that the industry is having trouble finding and retaining staff. With nearly all the
thirty largest assisted living providers being for-profit organizations, this booming care industry is profit-driven at its core.
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