{"id":10849,"date":"2023-02-07T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.protrainings.com\/blog\/?p=10849"},"modified":"2024-01-21T22:45:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T03:45:42","slug":"surviving-medical-staff-shortage-home-health-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.protrainings.com\/blog\/surviving-medical-staff-shortage-home-health-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Surviving the Medical Staff Shortage in Home Health Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

A widespread medical staff shortage in home health agencies leaves patients without care, home health aides overworked and exhausted, and home health agencies unable to meet all the needs of their communities. And with the demand for in-home care rising, home health agencies are in great need of solutions to improve employee retention.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In 2022, the turnover rate for home care aides was at 35.42%<\/a>. While that rate is still much higher than the ideal, it has decreased from 38.05% in 2021. This decrease in turnover rate correlates with an increase in wages for home health workers, suggesting that the increase in compensation encouraged more workers to stay in the field.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

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However, compensation isn\u2019t the only factor affecting the medical staff shortage in home health agencies, and offering higher wages isn\u2019t the only way to improve staff retention. There are other measures home health agencies can take to solve the problems that are causing their workers to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Read on to learn more about the medical staff shortage and how home health agencies can improve employee retention.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Home Health Medical Staff Shortage Causes<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The medical staff shortage isn\u2019t limited to home health agencies<\/a>. Medical workforces across the board are understaffed, overworked, and on the verge of burnout. In many cases, the shortage of workers becomes a self-sustaining cycle: When overworked healthcare workers quit, they leave their former workplaces even more short-staffed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Because home health agencies are particularly limited in the number of patients they can serve at a time, the waiting list of patients who need home care but can\u2019t get it continues to grow<\/a>. Despite the growing demand, however, home health agencies typically don\u2019t receive the federal financial aid that other healthcare facilities do.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This lack of funds further exacerbates the preexisting medical staff shortage, as home health workers either leave the field in search of better compensation and benefits or quit out of exhaustion due to lack of quality training and equipment or an overloaded schedule \u2014 or all of the above.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Fortunately, as the decreasing home health worker turnover rate suggests, these problems can be solved. People who choose to work in home health care do so because they care \u2014 and those who leave do so out of necessity. When the factors causing them to leave the field are addressed, most will be glad to stay and continue providing care.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Improving Staff Retention in Home Health Agencies<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While some contributing factors of the medical staff shortage in home health agencies are outside of any individual\u2019s control \u2014 such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of federal financial assistance \u2014 there are still measures home health agencies can take to improve employee retention beyond increased wages and benefits.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Increase Efficiency<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The more efficient your home health workers are able to be, the less burdensome their workloads will feel and the better quality care they\u2019ll be able to provide. Some ways to increase efficiency include:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n