The American Health Care Association

to recover from their hospitalization or when they can’t return home. These vulnerable individuals deserve access to high quality care provided by dedicated caregivers, and long term care facilities need the support of policymakers to make it happen. The American Health Care Association (AHCA) has proposed a variety of strategies and solutions to improve the long term care economic and workforce crisis in the Care For Our Seniors Act. These strategies will address some of the long-standing issues in America’s nursing homes and provide meaningful investments to our seniors’ care. Building a Pipeline of Caregivers Workforce recruitment and retention is one of the most pressing challenges confronting nursing homes and other long term care providers today. The health care system has experienced a shortage of trained caregivers for critical roles for some time; nurses and nurse aides are among the fastest growing occupations, but supply is not keeping pace. The federal government estimates nearly 27 million people will need some kind of long term care by 2050, magnifying the workforce shortage that already exists. The pandemic exacerbated the crisis as staff members got sick, had to isolate, or lacked AT A GLANCE THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION WHAT: Represents nursing homes and assisted living providers through its National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) WHERE: Based in Washington, DC WEBSITE: www.ahcancal.org