When word spread in early September about a trio of Maine nursing homes announcing their pending closures, a lot of media outlets and special interest groups put a spotlight on them.
The sense was that an “I told you so” moment had been reached. Anyone who had predicted doom and gloom for the sector had found some fresh poster children.
Despite the obvious impact the pandemic has had on them, facilities’ teetering financial worries are a bit more complex than face value. Problems in Maine and many other areas are deeper than just who’s willing to get vaccinated to work.
Age-old challenges of hiring and maintaining a relatively low-paid workforce remain. The pandemic may be the shiny, new Death Star in the room, but it’s not the only danger.
Recently, we heard one of the defunct Maine facilities wants to reopen but can’t find enough qualified staff who can afford to live near it. Providers around the country have wrestled with this quandry for decades. It requires solving this chicken-or-egg question: Should affordable housing be increased or should wages and benefits be raised to enable more suitable living conditions?
The answer is yes. To both.
In Maine, a task force researched how to reopen Island Nursing Home on Deer Island, located in one of the state’s most expensive areas.
At least 26 job candidates turned down jobs there when they could not find affordably priced housing. With little mass transportation, local officials say that landlords would have to open rental units at affordable rates to accommodate would-be SNF workers.
“The community must come together with long-term commitments of money, time, real estate, housing and other forms of support,” the task force chairman told local media.
And there you have it. At some point, local communities are going to have to show their desire to have quality care in their midst.
If they want highly regarded long-term care for their loved ones, they can do more to help make it happen. This could include answering housing and common health needs for would-be staffers.
On the latter front, COVID-19 vaccination rates may come into play. Academic researchers have shown a strong correlation between COVID prevalence in a surrounding community and how prevalent the virus will be inside a nursing facility. How safe does a community want its frail, elderly facility residents? How they treat their caregivers can be a telling indicator.
From the January/February 2022 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
