Recent closings and downsizings of Kansas nursing homes represent a microcosm of major troubles facing nursing homes nationwide.
During the pandemic, 35 long-term care facilities in the state have either closed, or reduced admissions and capacity, according to LeadingAge Kansas.
Nationwide, staff shortages from before the pandemic have intensified during the public health emergency and continue today. Meanwhile, federal and state money to help with staffing wanes, facilities compete more intensely for workers, and staffing agencies continue to cost more than regular staff.
Kansas, like the rest of the US, expects its aging population to increase by multiples in the coming decades. By 2036, the number of Kansans 65 years and older is projected to grow by more than 40%, according to a a local news report this week.
One nursing home administrator said her facility closed a quarter of its residential capacity because it couldn’t find enough workers. She added that in the past year, approximately 20 of 51 certified nursing assistant positions have remained vacant.
“For every person we hire, it seems like two are leaving,” she said to the Pratt Tribune.
Research shows that residents suffer when staff levels are inadequate, losing weight and gaining pressure sores and higher risk of getting COVID-19.
When nursing homes turn to staffing agencies for help, it creates three problems: agencies cost more than full-time staff, thriving agencies attract nurses for the higher pay and thus away from facilities’ worker pool, and residents get care from workers who aren’t as familiar.
“It’s really difficult to have a different person caring for you all the time,” Dana Weaver, the chief operating officer of LeadingAge Kansas, told the Pratt Tribune. “It produces anxiety for the individual, and the individual actually has to teach the agency staff person how to care for them.”
