MEDIA ADVISORY / FOR PLANNING PURPOSES
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Contacts: Tara Ober, 610-442-1273, tober@phca.org | Emily Dong, 267-761-1502, emily.dong@seiuhcpa.org
Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA) and SEIU Healthcare PA Announce Historic New Labor-Industry Partnership to Solve Workforce Challenges in Commonwealth’s Nursing Homes
Harrisburg, PA – On Wednesday, April 23, the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA), the commonwealth’s leading advocacy association for hundreds of long-term care providers, and SEIU Healthcare PA, the state’s largest healthcare workers’ union representing nearly 9,000 nursing home workers, will announce a new labor-industry partnership created to solve the dire healthcare workforce challenges impacting residents across the state. The two organizations will share their joint plan to advocate for accountable funding and create family-sustaining jobs in nursing homes.
The first of its kind in Pennsylvania, this new partnership will tackle improving resident care and jobs. The commonwealth is home to the 5th highest population of older adults in the U.S., but an estimated 2,000 people per day wait for a nursing home bed. Ranked one of the most dangerous jobs in 2020, many workers have left the bedside for better-paying and less-stressful jobs. As Pennsylvania’s aging population explodes–and the nursing home resident population grows with higher acuity–we must invest in recruiting, retaining, and training the skilled workforce.
WHAT: Press conference announcing PHCA and SEIU Healthcare PA’s new labor-industry partnership to solve workforce challenges and improve resident care and jobs
WHEN: Wednesday, April 23 at 9:30 AM
WHERE: Media Center, Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex (501 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17120)
WHO: Zach Shamberg, CEO of PHCA; Matthew Yarnell, President of SEIU Healthcare PA; Nursing home licensed practical nurse; Legislators
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PHCA stands as the leading advocacy association in the commonwealth, representing the interests of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents and the dedicated providers who care for them. Our core mission is to elevate, educate, and advocate on behalf of these residents, their caregivers, and our network of over 450 long-term care providers. At PHCA, we are committed to sustaining a robust and high-quality long-term care continuum across Pennsylvania and are dedicated to advancing the work of our members, leveraging our extensive industry knowledge to ensure their long-term success in an evolving healthcare landscape. Learn more at phca.org.
SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania is the state’s largest and fastest-growing union of nurses and healthcare workers, uniting tens of thousands of professional and technical employees, direct care workers, and service employees in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home- and community-based services, and state facilities across the Commonwealth. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania members are committed to improving the lives of health care workers and ensuring quality care and healthy communities for all Pennsylvanians.
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