Healthcare Workforce Challenged

The lack of affordable housing and transportation is hurting North Fulton’s healthcare industry

15% of people in the workforce are caring for an older adult.

Beth Cayce, Caravita Home Care

Even before the pandemic, North Fulton was home to a growing older population. As Beth Cayce, CEO of Caravita Home Care, notes, in the next two decades, 30% of our population is projected to be over 65, and the number of citizens over 75 is expected to triple by 2050. Now, with COVID-19 still present and wreaking havoc, the demand for healthcare is at an all-time high. Many providers are short-staffed, and the workers they do have are stretched thin and often burned out.

In order to recruit and retain healthcare employees — from home-care CNAs to specialist doctors to housekeeping — North Fulton needs to create an attractive enough work environment and enough amenities and benefits to sustain a workforce that not only works but resides in North Fulton. Beth Cayce and Jon-Paul Croom, President of Wellstar North Fulton Hospital, shared insights on the needs of the industry during NFIN’s sixth Fireside Chat event. 

The two major problems for both were the lack of affordable housing and transportation options for healthcare workers. Croom explains that many of their workers, especially those in environmental services (housekeeping), have commutes up to an hour and a half because they cannot afford to live in the same communities they serve. When presented with employment opportunities that are closer to home, many are willing to accept lower pay over the burden of three hours per day in a car or on public transportation.

Transportation itself poses problems, especially for home-care nurses. Some low-income workers do not have reliable access to a car, and public transit often only gets them to major employment centers. CNAs are critical to the ability for the ill and elderly to remain at home. Since many of these clients live in suburban areas, transporting workers not only to central places of employment but actually to these people’s houses creates an issue when demand is high and reliable transportation is unavailable. 

As Cayce puts it, “If we want a vibrant community where people can age in place… we have to have affordable housing, and we have to have some solutions for transportation. It’s important to our long-term survival.”

Watch the full Fireside Chat here.