What's Happening?
At the LeadingAge annual meeting, CEO Katie Smith Sloan highlighted the disparity between thriving and struggling nonprofit aging services providers. The meeting underscored the need for innovation in long-term
care, but participants noted that structural solutions were rarely discussed. The crisis affects both workers and patients, with many direct care workers living in poverty and relying on public assistance. The system faces challenges such as inadequate care and financial extraction by private equity. Nonprofits are urged to advocate for transparency and accountability in financial arrangements to better serve care delivery.
Why It's Important?
The long-term care crisis has significant implications for the aging population and the workforce. Nonprofits play a crucial role in advocating for economic justice and transparency in resource allocation. The disparity between well-funded and underfunded organizations highlights systemic issues that need addressing. The crisis presents an opportunity for nonprofits to push for reforms that prioritize accountability and equitable resource distribution. Addressing these challenges is vital for improving care quality and ensuring the sustainability of long-term care services.
What's Next?
Nonprofits are encouraged to use their moral authority to demand transparency and accountability in financial arrangements. Advocacy for living wages, collective bargaining rights, and immigration reform for direct care workers is essential. The sector must focus on systemic transformation, including enforcement capacity and transparency requirements for ownership. Nonprofits have the opportunity to challenge industry claims and pursue litigation when necessary to protect vulnerable populations.
Beyond the Headlines
The crisis offers nonprofits a unique opportunity to operate independently from industry structures and confront powerful interests. Building a functional long-term care system requires recognizing constraints and choosing system transformation over stakeholder consensus. Nonprofits committed to economic justice can decide whether to work within existing frameworks or build the independence necessary to challenge extraction.
