Time to care as boomers age Caregivers will be most in demand as state's elderly stay at home

Dennis Yusko

Mar. 19, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- CLIFTON PARK -- Help still is wanted for those who care.

Caregiving will continue to be one of the fastest growing jobs in the state and region, the state predicts, as baby boomers increasingly age at home.

More than 26,000 new home care aides will be hired in New York during the decade ending in 2016, including 760 in the Capital Region, the state Labor Department projects. That doesn't include 52,320 home health aides -- caregivers with medical skills -- expected to find work by 2016.

"There's a need for them, a big need," said Laura Gardner, 95, a cancer survivor who has employed several caregivers at her home in Coburg Village. "I get my breakfast, they do my dishes, make my bed and stand by while I shower."

The opportunities providing care for the elderly and ill is an oasis in today's desert-like economy. But some say the need soon will reach urgent levels because demand outpaces supply.

As the "baby boom" population gets older, the number of Americans who are 65 and above is expected to more than double to 88.5 million by 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"I think it could get to the point of a crisis," said Maureen Carpenter, manager for Home Instead Senior Care, a national company with about 90 employees based in Saratoga Springs. The company is looking for about five non-medical caregivers, many of whom work part-time helping seniors with grocery shopping, meal preparation, housekeeping and more.

Health care and technology continue to grow in today's severe recession, said James Ross, Capital Region labor analyst for the state Labor Department. The growth in caregiver positions reflects people living longer and health care industry efforts to get patients back into homes and out of high-cost operations such as hospitals and nursing homes, he said.

Carpenter recently noticed more qualified candidates applying for positions because they can't find other work in the downturn.

"Our base was part-time people, stay-at-home moms looking for some income," Carpenter said. "Now we're getting people looking for the 40-plus hours and have experience on their resume. We've also had a lot more men apply."

Joanie Titka, 40, started recently after years as a pharmacy technician. Her employer filled her position when she became ill, and when she returned, her hours declined. But Titka found satisfaction caring for her neighbor in Glens Falls while she was off, so she trained to be a caregiver at Home Instead. She earns $8 an hour caring for two clients in their 80s. Shifts usually are three hours, and she can earn bonuses through incentives.

"I decided it would be a cut in pay, but more satisfying," she said.

Some industry observers believe the number of caregiver jobs could be stunted by government cuts in health care or recently unemployed family members now staying at home with their loved ones. Ross says the state's numbers are based on current trends.

Gardner pays $17 an hour for three, three-hour visits a week. She was the youngest of 10 children and a school teacher in Rensselaer during the Great Depression about 75 years ago. She now depends on a helper for sandwiches, clothes and conversation.

"You don't want someone who isn't going to listen," Gardner said.

Dennis Yusko can be reached at 454-5353 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.

The top five growing occupations through 2016 in the state and Capital Region:

New York

Title 2006 Jobs 2016 % change

Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts 17,100 24,270 41.9

Computer software engineers, applications 32,250 44,490 38

Home health aides 138,290 190,610 37.8

Personal and home care aides 74,680 100,790 35

Medical assistants 18,060 23,540 30.3

Capital Region

Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts 1,130 1,570 38.9

Medical assistants 780 1,060 35.9

Personal and home care aides 2,250 3,010 33.8

Computer software engineers, applications 2,340 3,120 33.3

Cost estimators 710 940 32.4

Source: State Labor Department

Newstex ID: KRTB-0007-33192925