Wisconsin’s economy has bounced back since the pandemic, with most industries back up and running to or at least near their pre-COVID levels. The nursing home industry hasn’t recovered at all In fact it’s continuing to drop. What’s going on here?
Here’s Five Fast Facts on the Nursing Home Employee Shortage:
- 🏥Nosedive - Since the pandemic started, employment in nursing homes and residential care facilities have dropped 13%, while most other industries in the state are on the way up.
- 👴Aging Out - The number of retiring nursing home employees continues to grow on an annual basis and no one is stepping up to fill those vacancies. Increased pay and benefits aren’t cutting it,either.
- 😷Mental Health- It’s not just nurses leaving, either. The industry is losing, executive directors, administrators and dining staff are all bailing, leaving the field completely.The job vacancy rate is at a staggering 28%. For comparison, a common vacancy rate is about 3.5.
- ⚕️No Vacancy - Facilities have started turning away patients, de-listing beds or even closing altogether. In fact the DHS said nursing homes have closed more than 8% of their beds since the start of the pandemic.
- 👩⚕️Cash Dump - In 2021, Gov. Evers and the DHS have invested $6M into the WisCaregiver Career Workforce Development Program. It provides free training, free certification testing and a $500 sign-on or retention bonus. No word yet on whether or not it’s working.
🔥Bottom line: To stick with the medical theme here, the nursing home industry is bleeding out. If the trend continues, our aging population won’t have the health care options that were previously available. It’s clear it’s not just a pay issue, too, so someone needs to figure it out, stat.
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