Eric Simonsen attended the county commissioners meeting on Wednesday to share his concern about the lack of staff at the facility in Slippery Rock where he lives. A planned trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn., had to be canceled because it was one staff member short, and temporary workers change frequently.

Two employees of Merakey AVS Services in Slippery Rock helped resident Eric Simonsen maneuver his electronic wheelchair to the podium at Wednesday's Butler County Commissioners meeting so Simonsen could tell the board that he and his friends were unable to go on a vacation to Gatlinburg, Tenn., because of a worker shortage at Merakey.

Simonsen relayed his concerns to the commissioners regarding the staff shortage at Merakey AVS, which houses and provides day programming for 100 adults with intellectual and developmental delays in Slippery Rock.

Simonsen said the Gatlinburg vacation was canceled because Merakey was one staff member short for the trip.

Leslie Osche, commissioners chairwoman, told Simonsen that his problem is not unique.

“This is a crisis nationwide, the shortage of care workers,” Osche said. “It's a struggle for every provider.”

Osche said Butler County Community College is focusing on training caseworkers, while the state County Commissioners Association is working on ways to recruit caregivers and caseworkers for such organizations as Merakey AVS and Lutheran Senior Life.

She suggested that Simonsen could be a candidate for visiting high schools to talk to students about careers in the caseworker and caregiver fields.

“Folks are trying to work on this issue,” Osche told Simonsen.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel stressed that the shortage at Merakey AVS and other entities is not about money, but rather recruiting qualified candidates to fill caseworker and caregiver positions.

Boozel said Simonsen came to his office before the meeting to discuss the issue.

Leah McGuire, a program instructor with Merakey AVS, said Simonsen was greatly disappointed about the cancellation of the Gatlinburg trip because he appreciates and studies history.

“That would have been the perfect vacation for him,” McGuire said.

She said the problem at her facility is that temporary staff members employed by agencies make more than Merakey workers, and those temps are constantly changing and not invested in each patient's care.

“Eric has a lot of people he doesn't know in his house,” McGuire said.

She said temp agency employees don't know the clients' dietary needs and other information about them, which makes providing quality services difficult.

She said employees are needed both in the Merakey houses in the borough and in the day programming center.