Recruitment and Retention: Understanding the Healthcare Workforce

Staffing shortages in long-term care facilities have escalated to such an extreme level, they are now deemed a recruitment staffing crisis. Skilled Nursing Facilities have implemented waitlists, declined new admissions, and even closed units as a result of the staffing crisis. Industry experts predict the staff shortages will mean a drop in revenue for long-term care providers and lowered Five Star ratings for staffing caused by staff burnout, vaccine mandates, and other constraints placed on healthcare workers. In the latest update to the Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Rating System, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would post Weekend Staffing and Staff Turnover data on the Care Compare website to be viewed by consumers and increase their awareness of the staffing environment in a skilled nursing facility. CMS will also include that data to calculate the star rating for the staffing domain in the Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Rating System in July 2022.

Staffing shortages have increased the demand for agencies to provide temporary staff to fill in for vacant positions or coverage resulting from unanticipated rises and drops in patient caseloads. In addition to this demand, long-term care staff salaries are generally higher when compared to salaries pre-pandemic. These two factors have resulted in many staffing agencies charging far higher rates from healthcare recruiters, intensifying the financial toll staffing shortages take on a facility.

Current shortages have only magnified the importance of staff retention. Labor is the largest expense in healthcare, and staff turnover significantly increases this expense. Facilities that foster a respectful working environment with growth opportunities and recognize the importance of staff satisfaction, see lower attrition rates. Further, it has been found that increased staff satisfaction often translates to increased satisfaction among residents and their families. Facility management plays a key role in setting their workforce up for success. By recognizing the importance of staff fulfillment, when recruiting nursing staff, skilled nursing facilities can achieve optimal staff retention rates. This session will help you gain insight into your staff- do you know what ratio of gender, generations, and cultures make up your workforce? These factors influence which solutions you may have the greatest success with. Attendees will learn what team members most commonly value, and suggestions of how you can meet their motivations and increase satisfaction. Learn about better recruitment and retention strategies in your setting in this session.

During this session, the presenter will review the true cost of underproductive staff, discuss the value of staff appreciation, and describe how reinforcing skill competencies can influence staff retention . Participants will examine elements of a strong orientation program, that build the foundation for staff satisfaction and foster long-term growth within the long-term care organization. Learn how to include staff satisfaction as a Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) measure, utilize staff satisfaction surveys and implement a tracking system. The presenter will discuss opportunities that optimize your education budget by utilizing your vendors for skill enhancement. This session will explore current challenges providers experience when recruiting new staff and successful recruitment solutions to consider.

The presenter will lead an open discussion of “Thinking Outside the Box” strategies used to motivate staff and successfully engage employees.

• Understand the makeup of your workforce and recognize what factors motivate them.
• Utilize recruitment and retention strategies and acknowledge possible barriers to successful implementation.
• Realize the impact staff retention has on Quality Measures and revenue.

• Understanding the workforce & recruitment and retention strategies
• Recruitment strategies
• Retention strategies
• The importance of a good orientation program
• Empowering clinicians through skill development
• Assess your staff competencies to meet your acuity level
• Including staff retention & satisfaction as a QAPI measure
• Utilizing vendors for skill enhancement

Learn about opportunities to safeguard one of your most valuable assets, your staff. This session will discuss how you can assess staff retention, proven solutions that increase retention, and recruitment strategies to draw in new employees.

• Administrator
• Director of Nursing
• Nursing Staff
• Regionals
• Owners
• CNA
• Dietary