Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1 million nurses will be needed by 2022

BAYADA Home Health Care, which provides a complete continuum of in-home care services, is proactively implementing a holistic approach to caring for its most valued and respected resource: nurses and other care professionals.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nursing opportunities are projected to grow by 19 percent by 2022, while nearly 525,000 currently working nurses are expected to retire—putting the total number of new nurses needed at more than 1 million over the next seven years. Home health aide opportunities are expected to increase by 48%--that’s 600,000 positions—to meet the demand of the aging Baby Boomer population.

“Our priority has always been about finding the right people to help our patients,” said Mark Baiada, BAYADA founder and president. “Now, the nursing shortage has made it challenging to support the growing demand for high-quality in-home care. We hope that our commitment to creating a meaningful nursing career—by investing in technology and training opportunities—will make home health care nursing the clear choice. To underscore our ‘people-first’ strategy, we’re using tablets, piloting electronic documentation, leveraging telehealth communications with physicians, delivering pre-packaged medications—all with the goal of empowering our nurses, optimizing their time, elevating them to the top of their profession and fulfilling their cause of one-on-one care.”

In addition, the company announced today—on its 42nd anniversary—the launch of a new nurse recruiting campaign “I Love What I Do” to emphasize what employees have been sharing for years. The campaign features a hopeful, exuberant nurse whose natural expression conveys idealism and the pure joy she feels when connecting with her BAYADA patients. She is highly skilled, confident, and compassionate and proud to work for a company that cares about clients and employees alike. The campaign is supported by a suite of new recruiting materials and a new careers website. Plus, for the first time ever, it has doubled its unique referral bonus program in which all referring employees—and their qualifying candidates who apply between January 1st and March 31st and are hired—will receive twice the regular bonus.

Despite the growing demand for all positions in the home health care field, the company’s belief is that it is not simply about hiring a caregiver to train and match with a patient who needs them. “We believe that the very best caregivers are connected to purpose,” explained Baiada. “They love what they do because it is their calling, and we work very hard to preserve a culture that will support these like-minded and like-hearted colleagues for generations to come.”

BAYADA was the first home care provider to offer nurses the opportunity to practice their skills in a clinical simulation lab—one of many offers that Baiada hopes will attract more nurses. Others include a nurse residency program (an extensive training for recent nurse graduates), specialization (the opportunity to become an expert in a particular diagnosis like ALS, dementia, or heart failure), and certification (to join the home care industry’s first and only rehab nursing program as a certified rehabilitation registered nurse.)

“It’s no longer the same role your mother had as a home care nurse,” laughed Tracey Tillger, RN, CRRN, a BAYADA Nurse since 2009. “In home care, I get to use all of the skills I learned and apply them in a truly holistic team approach to caring for my patients. I’ve been working one-on-one for years with a patient who has a spinal cord injury and it’s incredible to see the progress he’s made during the time he’s been with us—from having no mobility at all to being able to completely move his arms, use the computer, and sit upright unassisted. There’s nothing like it in the world.”

About the efforts BAYADA is making to create meaningful nursing opportunities, Magee Rehabilitation’s Karen Fried, MSN, RN, CRRN said, “This commitment ensures that the patients we send home with BAYADA will be cared for and supported. We feel confident knowing that BAYADA continues to lead the way in action and advocacy to ultimately benefit patient outcomes and reduce costs.”

Founded on this day in 1975 by J. Mark Baiada, BAYADA Home Health Care provides nursing, rehabilitative, therapeutic, hospice, habilitation, and assistive care services to children, adults, and seniors in the comfort of their homes. Headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, BAYADA employs more than 23,000 nurses, home health aides, therapists, medical social workers, and other home health care professionals who serve their communities from more than 310 offices across the United States with a growing international presence. For more information, please visit bayada.com.