Every senior in Minnesota deserves access to the housing, care, and support that they need in their home communities. Likewise, caregivers in nursing homes and assisted living facilities deserve wages that reflect the challenging work they do.

Minnesota needs a strong workforce to serve our growing population of older adults. We’ve got resources and solutions to help you recruit new talent, strengthen career pathways, retain your current workforce, and build the workforce Minnesota will need for the future.

As care options continue to disappear across Minnesota due to workforce shortages, families are making incredible sacrifices to care for their older loved ones. Asking our seniors or their families to travel an hour or more away to find care is unacceptable. The state must ensure families and communities can remain whole.

In long-term care, wages are directly affected by the state’s role in reimbursing providers. State leaders set reimbursement rates for care. The current rates do not provide enough money for caregivers to make a family-sustaining wage.

In addition, outdated data means that senior care settings are receiving payments that do not reflect current costs to provide care. Unless the state increases funding and makes long-overdue updates to the payment system, senior care leaders cannot recruit and retain the caregivers needed to provide Minnesota seniors with the care they need.