Paying family members as at-home care providers can address shortage

A program offering parents of children with complex medical needs the opportunity to become certified nursing assistants and then paying them for providing at-home medical care could help to address the home health shortage. The results, published in the February issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, showed children in a Colorado Medicaid program who received family-CNA care were no more likely to be hospitalized than children cared by a non-family CNA. Children with family-CNA caregivers also experienced greater care continuity. In addition to addressing the workforce shortage, the model would provide additional income to parents who must leave the workforce to care for their children. Most states do not allow parents to receive payment to care for their children. (Newswire release, 2/21/23)