By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Staffing shortages continue to put a strain on senior center staff throughout Wood County. On Wednesday it was decided that the minimum wage for staff will be bumped up to $14 an hour.
“There will be no one making less than $14/hour at the Wood County Committee on Aging,” said WCCOA Executive Director Denise Niese. Currently, some of the intermittent staff earn $11.50 an hour.
To keep up with staffing challenges, the staff has been cross-trained to fill empty positions. Last month the board learned that the human resources manager was doubling as a home delivered meals driver. The treasurer was filling in shifts in the kitchen. And the executive director was going to satellite centers to make sure services are available in the more rural areas.
At Wednesday’s board meeting, it was reported that the following positions are currently unfilled – North Baltimore site manager, northeast meal route driver, home delivered meals assessor, program and outreach specialist, program and enrichment specialist, and a cook.
In order to determine how the Wood County Committee on Aging wages compare to those at other senior agencies in Ohio, BGSU professor Abishek Bhati was asked to conduct a survey.
Niese said Bhati contacted about 80 senior agencies, with 11 responding. The annual budgets of the agencies ranged from $400,000 to just over $4 million. Wood County’s annual budget for this year is about $3.3 million.
“We weren’t the highest, but we weren’t the lowest either,” Paul Herringshaw, president of the WCCOA Board, said of the wages.
“We’re right in the middle,” Niese said. “Which is where you want to be.”
The first step of the survey process included tabulating and standardizing jobs as minimum education qualification, the minimum required work experience, skill set, and purpose of each job position. In the second step, a survey instrument was designed to capture the wage range for each job based on the job descriptions and minimum qualifications.
Senior centers across Ohio are struggling to attract and retain staff, according to Niese. While some programs for the aging are funded by the state, the county senior centers are left splitting federal funds from the Older American Act Funds.
“We’re not the only one struggling with staffing,” Niese said. “We’re small nonprofits. It’s left up to us to find other funding for our programs.”
And like other agencies, WCCOA is seeing a lack of quantity and quality in job applicants.
“Some of the applications coming in are not even worth an interview, unfortunately,” Niese said.
When job applicants come in for interviews, the rewarding nature of the work is explained.
“We really emphasize that this is a humanitarian effort,” Niese said.
Whether it’s transporting seniors to medical appointments or delivering hot meals to their homes, the staff is making a difference in the lives of local seniors.
The tough part of the job is that staff work with people as they near the end of their lives, Niese said.
“The staff grieves. That is one of the most difficult parts,” she said. “We’re working with people in the sunset years, and you have to be at peace with that.”
To show appreciation for the staff, the board voted last month to give Niese $32,500 to distribute to employees at her discretion for their hard work under difficult conditions. The board also plans to grant 4.5% pay raises this year. Some lower paid positions may be increased at a higher rate.
Some of the current job openings are part-time positions that might appeal to some retired seniors.
“Please continue to spread the word,” Niese told the board.
