One of the biggest problems in the skilled nursing world is staffing. This is a hard world to work in and after the past few years the numbers of people interested in getting into Healthcare has significantly declined.
Not just nursing is in a shortage
As much as it is publicized about the shortage of nurses and nurses aids across the country, the pick of available people is felt across all types of positions.
There is a shortage of help in dietary, housekeeping, and Therapy. It has affected every aspect of a nursing home.
This is also much more evident in more rural areas as we struggle to get positions filled.
Difficulties finding good therapy help
With working in a rural area it is difficult to find help This is true for help for days off as well as filling full time positions.
Years ago I would have weeks of interviews for any full time positions. Now we go for weeks just waiting for anyone to even apply.
This is not just a local issue. This is found across the country. If you look at every Therapy company you can see openings.
How do we fix this?
Thankfully there are some ideas and programs out there in different states. Across multiple states there are scholarships and grant programs to help pay for nursing school to help address the shortage of nurses. We need a focus on therapists now as well.
There needs to be a increased focus on facilitating a new group of therapists by making it affordable to earn the degrees as well as being able to offer good benefits and salaries that are comparable to other types of work that require the education, licensure, and continuing education requirements.This challenge is directly correlated to reimbursement. This needs to be worked at together across the country and make sure we develop the workforce to continue to care for our most vulnerable population, the elderly. It is the main reason why we all work in skilled nursing to start with.
