Staff at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) discussed the need to bolster the state’s long-term care workforce and wages during a Joint Legislative Executive Committee on Planning for Aging and Disability Issues meeting on Tuesday. Bea Rector, Assistant Secretary of DSHS’s Aging and Long-Term Support Administration, said workforce shortages have led to long-term care clients waiting longer than they ever have to access needed services. “We are averaging about 60 days for somebody new to services to get an in-home paid care provider,” Rector said. “Or if somebody loses a paid care provider, it might be as many as 60 days to get a new one. In some of our geographic areas the wait might be closer to four months. And in rural areas, or with individuals with complex needs, it can be longer.”
