In all businesses and industries, there is a point of service that drives the whole purpose of the endeavor. In the long term care industry, it is provision of health care service in a residential environment as provided by the corps of certified nurse aides (CNA’s).
These are the people that spend, by far, the most amount of time with the individual resident and understand them the best whether it be emotionally, clinically, or personally.
All other staff members, consultants, physicians, administrators, or owners stand on their shoulders.
The quality of their work performance dictates and reflects on the quality of the organization. There is a direct correlation and this is where the nursing home industry rubber meets the road.
You might assume that these individuals are therefore the most respected and appropriately paid members of the staff, right?
Um, no, they are not. It can’t be said that all nursing homes are guilty of this, but in the majority of facilities with which I am familiar, the CNA’s are some of the lowest paid and least respected members of the organization. Normally only Dietary, Laundry, and Housekeeping Aides are paid less.
Yes, I know; reimbursement issues! But if what (or who) carries the business feels neglected, you’re not going to have a business. Not enough people are coming into the industry and the present turnover rate is murder (and costly). How are you going to replace these people?
As I mentioned in an earlier article, these kids (and most of them are kids) need to be properly paid and incentivized the same way that other positions should be. A lot more should be invested in their training and in career ladders as well.
We need to instill a sense of dignity and worth in these truly essential and critical players. It always breaks my heart when I hear any of them say “Well, you know, I’m only an Aide”. If the nursing home industry as we know it is going to survive and grow, we have to put a stop to this and turn things around.
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