![]() ![]() In comparison, the average pay for licensed practical nurses is $59,200, licensed vocational nurses is $65,400 and registered nurses is $97,343. ZipRecruiter reports that on average, home health aides in San Diego make $31,641 per year and certified nursing assistants make $41,603. “You can go in as a certified nurse assistant, and you can have two years of schooling, become an RN and make more than double your pay,” Fish said. Students who advance to become licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses or registered nurses can earn more money and sometimes have fewer patients. While Southwestern has about 30 graduates in its CNA program per session, many of those students use the training as a step toward a higher nursing degree. “Those workers get very little respect in the professional world.” “It’s sorely underpaid and undervalued,” she said. The difficulty in finding geriatric specialists is in part due to the increased need, but Abrams doesn’t think that the growing older adult population shows the whole picture about why there’s such a great need for senior care workers. Before working for Grossmont, she spent more than 20 years ago working directly in the senior care field, first in geriatric care management and most recently as the director of education for Alzheimer’s San Diego. Not only does someone need to be able to keep up with the role’s physical demands, but caring for older adults toward the end of their lives can be emotionally draining.Īmy Abrams, Grossmont Healthcare District chief community health officer, said finding geriatric medical specialists has become ever more difficult. “You’re doing the total physical care of that person.” “It’s heavy lifting, literally and figuratively,” Girard said. ![]() They’re also tasked with cleaning patient rooms, bathrooms, clothing and examination rooms. That’s especially true for those working as certified nursing assistants, whose duties can include helping nursing home residents get out of bed, dress and eat. Working in the senior care field can exact an emotional and physical toll, said Samantha Girard, senior program director for the Southwestern College Nursing and Health Occupations department, which includes a certified nursing assistant program that trains students to work in skilled nursing facilities, hospitals and other health care agencies. “Most of health care - including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, home health agencies - are experiencing workforce shortages that disproportionately impact older people who have more health care needs,” Yourman said via email. That’s driving a heightened need for more health care professionals, including the home health aides and personal aides who care for people who are aging or have long-term health conditions. Lindsey Yourman, San Diego County’s first chief geriatric officer, said that like the rest of the United States, the growth of the region’s older adult population is on track to outpace the number of working-age family members able to care for them. With an increase of about 4,500 jobs per month over the past year, the organization’s May report shows there are still 189,500 nursing home employees needed to return to pre-pandemic levels.Ī Definitive Healthcare report published last October found that by the end of 2021, a total of 230,609 health care providers had left the profession, including 53,295 nurse practitioners.Īs the region pivots to support its growing population of older adults, public health policy will grapple with finding new ways to fill the increasing number of senior care jobs.ĭr. From the start of the pandemic to April 2022, the number of nursing home employees nationwide fell by 244,600, the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living found. ![]()
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