Economic Evidence for Home and Community Care Investment: The Case for Ontario Personal Support Workers’ Wage Parity
This paper outlines a strategy to mitigate the home and community care (HCC) PSW shortage by applying appropriate funding to HCC and focusing on equal pay between HCC and institutional long-term care facilities' PSWs.
Author: Katherine A.P. Zagrodney, Emily C. King, Deborah Simon, Kathryn A. Nichol and Sandra M. McKay
Publication Date: September 7, 2023
Description: The home and community care (HCC) sector is in a health human resource crisis. Particularly concerning is the shortage of personal support workers (PSWs) who provide the majority of HCC. This paper outlines a strategy to mitigate the HCC PSW shortage by applying appropriate funding to HCC and focusing on equal pay between HCC and institutional long-term care facilities' PSWs. Using publicly available data, our calculations estimate substantial government cost-savings from investing in HCC PSWs to increase HCC capacity. Beyond the economic evidence, how such investments would benefit those seeking care are also highlighted.
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Keywords: healthcare system capacity, health human resources, home and community care, personal support worker, wage policy
