Home care for aging parents, adults with disabilities in Philadelphia

Leaders at the Pennsylvania Homecare Association, which represents about 700 home care, home health and hospice agencies, say the industry’s workforce, about 290,000 people, is not growing at the same pace as the client population.

Low pay, moderate benefits and high burnout are making it increasingly hard to attract and retain workers, said association leaders, who estimate more than 112,000 direct care shifts go unfilled every month because of shortages.

“When you already can’t find somebody to do the work and then you’re not paying those folks well, those folks can go somewhere else and make more money,” Harris said. “Then you have more people who should be getting services, who need those services, who aren’t.”

Harris, who represents parts of South and West Philadelphia, recently met with families who depend on home care services, like the Walker family.

A home care worker comes by a couple times a week to support Barbara Walker’s adult son, Anthony, who has an intellectual and developmental disability.

In the past, Walker said she would often have to take off from work to stay home if Anthony was having a bad day or needed specialized services.

“It was hard. It was really hard,” she said. “It took a whole lot of time and patience.”