Other articles by Jane Erikson:

UA women's swim team buoys spirits of others Experts: Skimping on birth control costs AZ Our taxes now pay for most AZ births There's help for kids at home while parents work TMC to open hospice, calls it Peppi's House NW interior-design company has an award-winning style 'The Gypsy' thinks she may have landed Planned Parenthood OKs merger of Ariz. branches She keeps her customers in step with smart design In step with smart design

Education
Yavapai College
Teachers General
GROUNDS CONTROL
LANDCAPE FOREMAN & LABORERS Health Care
SOUTHERN ARIZONA ENDODONTICS I
NSURANCE PROCESSOR General
Prestige Maintenance USA
Area Manager Dental
Apache Dental
Porcelain Techs Technical
Yavapai College
Analyst Banner Programmer Retail
TOTAL WINE & MORE
WINE TEAM MEMBERS, CASHIER & STOCK MEMEBERS

Arizona faces a growing demand but a short supply of caregivers for the elderly, a problem that will get more attention now that the state has hired a person to find solutions.

Jutta Ulrich — her first name is pronounced yoo-tah — has the title of direct care workforce specialist for the state's Aging and Adult Services division of the Department of Economic Security.

But Ulrich's new job, which she started April 2, will involve working with other state offices, elder-care providers and community agencies to measure the caregiver shortage in Arizona, develop training standards for caregivers in different settings, and devise a pay scale to attract and retain more people to the field.

A caregiver can be a nurse's aide, a home-care aide or other worker who provides care but has less than a nursing degree. The work is difficult, often involving bathing, feeding, lifting, dressing and other care for a person suffering from terminal illness or dementia.

"There is a recognition that there is a shortage of direct care professionals, and as the population ages and people want to stay in their own homes, there will be an increased need," Ulrich said Monday. "We need to plan ahead to be sure those needs are met."

Arizona has a higher percentage of people 65 and older than the national average. The state ranks 22nd, with 12.6 percent of residents in that age group, compared with 12.1 percent nationally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But Arizona had a paltry 2.3 caregivers per 1,000 residents in 2005, compared with 3.5 per 1,000 nationally, according to a University of California study.

One explanation, no doubt, is the pay. Caregivers who work with people in their own homes averaged $8.93 an hour statewide as of last June 1, according to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

For caregivers in Tucson, average pay ranges from $8 to $10.50 an hour, said Judy Clinco, executive director of the Direct Caregiver Association, a local agency that provides advanced training for caregivers.

And those hourly wages are not often paired with benefits, said Clinco and Karen Fields, executive director of Pima Health System, which oversees AHCCCS programs in Pima County.

Direct Caregiver Association puts students through 200 hours of training — 80 more than the state requires for a certified nursing assistant, who may work in a hospital or elder-care home.

In contrast, the state requires 650 hours of training to become a manicurist, and 600 hours to be a dog groomer, Clinco said.

About 270 students have graduated from the association's program since it started five years ago, Clinco said. The extra training means most will start at $9 or more per hour, she said.

Gov. Janet Napolitano appointed a Citizens Work Group in 2004 to study the caregiver shortage. Its recommendations — from its 2005 report "Will anyone care?" — included hiring someone for the job that Ulrich was hired to do.

"The need for trained caregivers is only going to explode," Clinco said. "Whatever we can do to increase the professionalism of the workforce, and attract more people to a career as a caregiver, the better."