MetroWest495 Biz

MetroWest495 Biz | February 2014 15 Media SponSorS: preSenTinG SponSor: Wednesday, April 2, 2014 Doubletree Hotel 5400 Computer Drive Westborough 4:00 – 8:00 pm For more inFormation on becoming an exhibitor or attending: Corridor Nine Chamber of Commerce | 508-836-4444 www.corridornine.org Corridor nine BUSINESS EXPO • 4-hour power-packed marketplace featuring 128 exhibitors • 1300 Visitors Attended Last Year's Show • Build Strong Relationships with Key Decision Makers • Generate Qualified Business Leads • Enjoy a Sampling of Award- Winning Regional Cuisine • FREE to Attend – Only Your Business Card is Required! Reasons to attend: SupporTinG SponSorS: Canobie Lake Park Charter Business Cumulus Global Fletcher Tilton PC Mark's Moving & Storage, Inc. Sigma7 Group Small Business Insurance Agency Wegmans 1,300 VISITORS lAST yEAR: DON't MISS It! E 2014 The beST buSineSS-To-buSineSS Trade Show in The reGion! Corridor Nine Business Expo is the region's most anticipated networking event of the year for business professionals to learn about products & services to help exceed their goals and to network with other industry professionals! eXpo MarKeTinG bY: hoSTinG SponSor: MEETinG in THE MiddlE: Ways to remedy healthcare jobs gap Demand can be remedied with strategic screenings, training i t is no secret that health care is projected to be a high-growth field over the next decade. What may not be as obvious is the positions that will experi- ence the highest growth. And which soft skills will be required to excel in various workplaces. According to U.S. Department of Labor employment projections released in December, health care, along with construction, will be the strongest sector from 2012 to 2022, growing at 2.6 percent each year. That's compared with an expected growth of 0.5 percent across all industries. Over the next decade, the health-care sector is projected to add nearly 5 million jobs nationally, grow- ing 29-percent over that span. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor & Workforce Development projects health care will grow 24 percent over a similar timeframe, adding 120,000 jobs. State figures show physician and nursing jobs are projected to increase by 14 percent and 26 percent, respectively, while jobs for nurse's aides, or CNAs, will grow 19 percent. Shrinking pools Kathleen Harrington, vice president of human resources for Beth Israel Dea- coness Hospital-Milton, highlights another factor that tightens the labor mar- ket. "Due to the economic conditions in recent years, many employees did not feel financially prepared to retire. As the economy and stock market improve, more workers will decide to retire, taking with them valuable experience." The need for personal care assistants, or PCAs, and home health aides (HHAs) is projected to rise about 50 percent. Why? Because the focus on cost containment, prevention, hospital readmissions and quality of outcomes is shifting more care into the home setting. The increasing demand for both HHAs and CNAs will only exacerbate an already-tight labor market. With the Massachusetts unemployment hovering around 7 percent, why are healthcare providers working so hard to find quali- fied workers? It's a matter of finding workers with the right skills for specific work environments. While the clinical skill sets of HHAs and CNAs are simi- lar, each workplace demands different complementary technical and soft skills. Linda Greason, vice president of human resources for Milford Regional Medical Center, said that increasing emphasis on electronic medical records means employees must have basic technology competencies. Harrington notes that short hospital stays generate rapid patient turnover. Nurse's aides must quickly learn the nuances of care for each one. Home care, meanwhile, poses a different set of challenges for workers. Quality home care agencies provide nursing oversight, including 24/7 sup- port. Even with these quality-control measures, HHAs routinely work with minimal on-site supervision. Competency validation is critical. Given the one-to-one nature of home care, HHAs generally have more time to interact with their patients than their CNA counterparts. Each client's home represents a new and different workplace setting, and for those who see several clients in one day, scheduling and commuting add a layer of complexity. BrightStar engaged Kate Bett from BettSolutions, a talent development con- sulting firm in Upton, to help identify competencies that optimize long-term success for HHAs. "We identified competencies that were not expected as part of the role," she said, such as decision-making quality and dealing with ambiguity." Given the projected growth of the health care sector, the labor market will likely continue to tighten. If employers understand the required set of skills and competencies and implement the proper screening and training programs, they at least maximize the success of the employees they add to their team. n Home Care BY DavID PrICE Special to MetroWest495 Biz david Price is president and owner of BrightStar of Milford, Worcester & the Blackstone Valley, providers of quality in-home care.

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