2021 Most Admired CEO Award Provides Platform to Highlight Workforce Challenges

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Libbie Chapuran

Gayle Kvenvold, President and CEO of LeadingAge Minnesota, was recently named a 2021 Most Admired CEO by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. In a feature story published on Sept. 7, Gayle drew attention to the workforce shortages long-term care providers are facing:

"Long-term care had a workforce shortage before the pandemic, but it is now as severe as any in living memory. . . We know other sectors are struggling too, but because of our complex regulatory and reimbursement structure, raising our rates to compete on wages and benefits requires legislative action; adjusting our hours of operation and staffing requirements is not an option. The extreme shortage of persons choosing careers in long-term care services is a challenge that can only be tackled by working closely with policymakers and other stakeholders and thinking bigger than we ever have before about solutions. At the heart of all of this is changing the way society views aging — and its associated careers — and elevating caregiving as the honored profession that it is. There is so much more we can do to lift up and celebrate those who choose a career in caregiving."

You can read the entire article in the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal.