President and CEO, Pennsylvania Health Care Association, discusses advocacy, workforce challenges, and long-term care solutions

Zach Shamberg, 36, joined the Pennsylvania Health Care Association in 2014 as director of advocacy and legislative affairs, and was named president and CEO in 2019. He had previously served on several legislative campaigns and as a district office manager for the state House of Representatives.

He lives in Camp Hill with his wife and two daughters, ages 4 and 2.

When one hears “advocacy,” thoughts usually go to lobbying, but there is more to it. What does advocacy encompass for PHCA?

Advocacy is really about building. It’s about building grassroots constituencies, it’s about building coalitions, it’s about bridging the divide between different groups and different stakeholders and bringing those folks together for a common goal or a common message. Advocacy is so much more than lobbying in the Capitol. It’s really about joining together, raising that voice, and either getting things accomplished or raising awareness about an important issue.

You recently highlighted the challenge an aging workforce presents to healthcare, and how nursing schools are trying to meet that challenge. What other efforts have you seen to address these needs, or what might be some other ways to help tackle the challenge?

As far as Pennsylvania Health Care Association goes and the members we represent – nursing homes, personal care homes and assisted living communities – not only do we have to combat that aging or that dwindling workforce in many ways in Pennsylvania, but our aging demographics across the commonwealth present a real challenge in that we don’t have enough workers to meet the growing demands of our senior population and for long-term care. So we have to think outside the box, and we have tried to be very innovative when it comes to building our workforce pipeline, not just in the years to come, but in the immediate, today. For instance, we have advocated for and supported a legislative workforce package specifically aimed at solving the long-term care workforce crisis; so whether that is creating a new nurse aide training program, whether that is breaking down the regulatory barriers or burdens that don’t allow someone to enter a career in long-term care today, whether it’s something as simple as creating a brand-new position in a nursing home or giving credit towards graduation to high school juniors and seniors who work in long-term care, these are all outside-of-the-box solutions we’re pursuing to try to build our pipeline, not just for today, but for tomorrow.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic change or shape healthcare in Pennsylvania, and subsequently your work at PHCA?

For long-term care, in Pennsylvania and across the country, what the COVID-19 pandemic did was shine a bright light on the challenges that exist within our system. Whether it’s workforce, whether it’s funding, whether it is burdensome regulation, the COVID-19 pandemic, because nursing homes and long-term care communities were very much on the front lines, the pandemic really shone a bright light on the flaws and the challenges within our system, but it also provided an opportunity and it gave us at the Pennsylvania Health Care Association a microphone or a bullhorn to talk about those challenges, and even more important to propose solutions. So that time, as difficult as it was for our providers, for our workers, for our residents and for their family members – I was a family member of someone who was in a nursing home during the pandemic – that time gave us the ability to identify the challenges in our system and solve those challenges and we continue to do that today.

What was your favorite theatre role – or one you wish you could play?

In high school, I played the Kevin Bacon role in the musical “Footloose.” I’m still, to this day, the only person with no dancing skills to be given that role. And the one I wish I could play would be the Phantom in “Phantom of the Opera.” Now, if I were to roll my car windows down and you heard me singing along to that soundtrack, you’d know I could never do that role, but that’s one I’d love to play.

Freelance writer Jennifer Botchie Deinlein