The February 4 Times Union includes a letter to the editor from HCA President Al Cardillo in response to an article on home health aide workforce shortages in the Adirondacks.
“The Home Care Association of New York State has long called for a partnership effort by state agencies and the home care industry on a comprehensive statewide analysis of home care workforce shortages,” he writes. “These shortages exist in many communities involving the full scope of home care practice disciplines, from home health aides to nurses to therapists.”
“The system needs actionable steps, and now. The state also needs a comprehensive statistical assessment of the locally specific factors that cause critical-access gaps. These gaps shift the balance toward higher-cost services such as longer hospital stays.”