Maintaining a robust long-term care workforce is a cornerstone for bolstering the ailing economy, two long-term care leaders said last week.

President Barack Obama last week brought together leaders from all sectors of the market in a White House job summit. In a statement, Robert Van Dyk, chair of the American Health Care Association, and Alan G. Rosenbloom, president of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, reminded lawmakers of the important contribution long-term care makes to the U.S. workforce. Long-term care workers comprise roughly 27.4% of total healthcare employment. That’s roughly 4.5 million workers, they noted.

Employment opportunities abound in long-term care, they said. There are more than 100,000 openings for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants and therapists across the country, according to 2007 data. Filling these vacant positions could provide increased quality of care for seniors as well as boost the economy as a whole, they said.