The annual salary of executive directors at continuing care retirement communities jumped a healthy 3.9% in 2019, up to an average $172,806 across all capacity and revenue levels. 

CCRC nursing home administrators and assistant healthcare administrators, meanwhile, saw much more modest increases — 1.7% to $116,648 annually and 0.5% to $78,226, respectively.

The figures reflect same-participating facilities in the 2019-2020 annual CCRC Salary & Benefits Report, which was released Thursday by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service.

Overall, the company’s 22nd annual CCRC report was good news for lower-level workers, and turnover rates overall.

“Line workers saw the largest pay increases in this year’s results. We were seeing a lot of 3’s (3 percent raises), 4’s, 5’s and 6’s,” said Rosanne Zabka, director of reports for HCS. “This is definitely a reflection of (generally) low unemployment rates” and rising minimum wage rates across the country.

Certified nursing aides, for example, experienced an average pay raise of 4.1%. Directors of nursing, by comparison, rose just 2.4%.

Similarly, under hourly dining titles, kitchen porters received an average 5.3% increase, while sous cooks and dietary aides both rose 4.8%. By comparison, directors of food services saw a 2.6% average salary rise.

The new HCS report includes responses from 506 CCRCs, which provided data on more than 86,000 employees, covering 46 management and 53 non-management positions. The report is published in conjunction with LeadingAge and the cooperation of the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.

Directors of information technology saw their salaries rise at a 3.7% clip (to $94,398), better than the 2.7% increase in 2018. On top of that, their end-of-year bonuses averaged 7.9% of their salary.

The report also suggested fewer vacancies over the past year.

“The most noteworthy observation about turnover data is that turnover for top executives was way down,” Zabka said. In real figures, top level executives’ turnover plummeted to 7.7%, from 20.2% in 2018. 

Marketing jobs turnover also fell noticeably, to 13.5% from 31.6%. RN, LPN and CNA rates “dipped a bit,” to 31%, 26% and 41%, respectively.

Meanwhile, turnover rates for dining services (43.7%) and environmental services (28.9%), rose slightly. The HCS report is available for purchase at www.hhcsinc.com.