Maine has the distinction of being the oldest state in the nation. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that well over 20% of our population is 65 years or older. Pragmatism dictates that with an overwhelming aging population, our public policies should be focused on serving the unique social, physical and economic challenges facing our elderly during their end-of-life care.
However, a recent study demonstrates that the State of Maine lost the ability or simply the political will to provide adequate resources to care for older adults during their final years of life. Seniorly, an online platform, “found that nearly 38% of nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Maine are reporting nursing shortages this year, a more than 18% increase from 2020 when the pandemic began.” The report, based on multi-year datasets published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) affirms that Maine has the third-largest staffing shortage at long-term care facilities in the country.
Maine’s staffing shortages are reaching a critical breaking point with a dramatic uptick in the past two years. The report established that, “while only about 3% of Long-Term Care facilities in the country in 2022 have reported experiencing a shortage of clinical staff, including physicians, PAs, and advanced practice nurses, that rate is almost 12% in Maine.”
The percentage breakdown of long-term care facilities in Maine reporting difficulty in hiring and retaining staff run the gamut in all areas of their operations. Over 48% of our facilities reported shortages in nursing staff, 11% reported shortages in clinical personnel, and over 55% of facilities reported shortages in long term care aides and attendants who provide daily direct care support to residents.
Research indicates that for the average person who reaches the age of 65, almost 70% will require some level of long-term care during their final years. Consequently, Maine is unprepared to meet those demographic demands in the future. Reported closings of multiple long-term care facilities and notably two northern Maine Veterans’ Homes indicates a growing crisis of resources available for the care of older Mainers.
If Maine is to meet the demand of an aging population in the future, we must increase expenditures on health and long-term care through higher reimbursement rates, address our labor-force shortages, and provide leadership at the state level to resolve this current and future crisis.