A majority of senior housing and skilled nursing operators were relying on staffing agencies or temporary workers to meet their workforce needs as of mid-November, a provider survey revealed.
More than two-thirds of executives for senior housing and skilled nursing operators reported that they were using the outside resources to fill vacancies, the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) found. The figure is up from mid-April, when just 36% of executives reported using a hiring agency or temporary staff to deal with workforce shortages.
The findings were from NIC’s Wave 15 executive survey. Responses came from 64 operator executives and were collected between Oct. 26 and Nov. 8. Despite the issues, 81% of respondents said they are continuing to offer staff overtime hours.
The pandemic has exacerbated already-difficult workforce issues, many providers agreed.
“Although down slightly from Wave 14 (Oct. 12-25), most respondents are continuing to pay staff overtime hours, putting ongoing strain on [net operating income],” NIC senior principal Lana Peck explained.
From the December 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
