Blog

The US Lacks Assisted Living Facility And Nursing Home Staffers

October 20, 2021 0 Comment Category: Foothill Heights

Most assisted living residences and in the US face a lack of staffers in 2021, as per an AHCA/NCAL survey. AHCA/NCAL is an organization representing over 14,000 assisted living residences and nursing care locations in the nation. The findings of the recent survey reflect the feedback from 1,183 facilities offering long-term treatment for the elderly. The findings also indicate how much the facilities struggle during the pandemic.

The survey asked nursing care locations and assisted living facilities whether their overall staff situations have become worse or better. Up to 77% of the facilities and 86% of the locations responded with ‘much worse’ or ‘somewhat worse’. Suffice to say, most of these two location types have staffing shortages. Up to 59% of US nursing homes said that they face high-level staff shortages, whereas 30% of the locations experience moderate shortages.

Over 50% of US assisted living residences experience moderate-level staff shortages, whereas 30% face high shortage levels. Under 20% of assisted living residences and nursing care locations face low staff shortage levels, with 70% considering the struggle very difficult.

As per the survey, an insufficiency of interested or qualified candidates, as well as unemployment benefits that discourage candidates, are the main obstacles to recruiting new staffers. Some facilities cited their inadequate funding for competitive wages and present financial situations as obstacles. The above-mentioned information indicates the potential need for US Congress intervention.

As per AHCA/NCAL President and CEO Mark Parkinson, legislators must treat long-term care as important to tackle workforce challenges. Parkinson also said that if facilities have the financial means to offer competitive training programs and wages, workers would follow.

Almost 50% of assisted living residences and nursing care locations said that pandemic requirements have become obstacles to recruiting new staff too. US President Joe Biden announced vaccine requirements for every nursing home staffer. This means if the staffers fail to meet the requirement, they could lose Medicare and Medicaid financing.

As per this survey, over half of the two locations fear that the persistent challenges would lead to forced closures. It is important to prevent the closures, particularly when legislators have the solutions to that dire situation. Caregivers are fundamental to long-term treatment and impacting not just the elderly but also their families. Therefore, according to Parkinson, caregivers deserve the support of legislators in this regard.