There are not enough skilled health care workers to meet Maine’s needs. And, as Maine ages and sickens, the situation will get worse if employee numbers don’t climb.

Too few skilled workers mean that hospitals and nursing homes now require employees to work overtime, raising the at-work stress level in an already stressful environment and prompting people to leave the field.

Facilities also rely on contract labor to fill vacant positions, paying temporary out-of-staters double time to do work that could be done by Mainers if there were enough nurses and CNAs trained to do the work.

The nursing and direct care shortage is so severe that analysts warn it threatens to restrict access to care. Patients in long-term care facilities are already complaining that the staff turnover is disconcerting to family members and hurried workers are not as attentive as they should be.

According to the Maine Center for Economy Policy, the long-term care industry has long relied on 25- to 45-year-old women to populate the health care workforce, a population that is not growing as quickly as elderly in need of care. The gap places additional pressures on families to provide care as facilities cannot accommodate patient demand.

After an extensive study of the shrinking health care labor market, the MCEP concluded that Maine must coordinate efforts statewide to attract more interest in this line of work by increasing training, reducing job stress and raising wages and respect for these positions.

That challenge has been partially met.

On Wednesday, the Maine Hospital Association, the Maine Technical College System and Anthem announced a joint initiative to form the Health Care Workforce Alliance, including a direct investment in training and 100 new scholarships for those interested in pursuing health careers.

Gov. Baldacci is an enthusiastic supporter, saying “health care employs more Maine people than any other sector of our economy, and impacts our very quality of life. We cannot achieve affordable, accessible health care for our citizens if we don’t address the shortage of skilled health care workers.”

Well said.

According to the state’s Department of Labor, Maine needs 2,676 new RN positions created between 1998 to 2008 to meet the demand for care. Maine schools produce only 425 graduates annually, which falls seriously short of the combined current and future demand. Right now, the vacancy rate for registered nurses is 8.3 percent, much higher than vacancy rates compared to other occupations. And, the average age of a Maine RN is 45 years. Without a significant wave of new workers, the crisis will build as nurses approach retirement age.

There is a matching gap for qualified direct care workers.

This crisis will affect every person in Maine, either directly or indirectly, through personal or family need for care.

The health care system is the fastest growing sector of the Maine economy and will continue to be as Maine’s population rapidly ages.

Demand is clear. We must boost the supply of workers or suffer a continuing rise in cost and decline in care.


[email protected]