Maintaining staff is an ongoing and growing concern for nursing homes, but those challenges have been made even more difficult by the COVID-19 pandemic. This workforce instability is particularly troublesome regarding certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Facilities are constantly struggling to attract and keep good CNAs.
A recent study published in JAMDA, the journal of AMDA -The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Medicine, reports that developing leadership and staff empowerment are showing positive results regarding the retaining and stabilizing of staff. Of particular note are the efforts nursing homes are putting into supporting staff independence, involvement in care planning and decision-making, two-way communication, training, and enhanced respect for staff members.
This potential for retaining good CNAs was based on information the authors of the study observed from data they found in surveys of nursing home administrators. They discovered that CNA retention was consistently found in nursing homes that supported greater leadership and staff empowerment practices. Other positive factors noted were occupancy rate, chain status, and lower nursing home administrator turnover.
The authors also noted that, “Practices that promote shared and open decision-making, such as having formal processes that allow CNAs to contribute ideas on improving resident care and sharing facility-wide management decision-making power with staff, also may promote staffing stability.”
More details from the study may be found at: https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(20)30147-X/fulltext
Compliance Perspective
Recruiting and retaining competent CNAs in a nursing home directly affects its ability to provide quality care for its residents, particularly during such crises as the COVID-19 pandemic. High turnover and staffing shortages may result in placing residents in jeopardy for harm and be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to consider the need to implement programs designed for CNAs that support staff independence, involvement in care planning and decision-making, two-way communication, training, and enhancing feelings of self-respect.
- Train supervisory staff about any newly implemented programs intended to build leadership capabilities and staff empowerment with CNAs and other staff members.
- Periodically audit by personal, confidential surveying of staff to determine the effectiveness of a newly implemented program, or to uncover the need to implement such a program.
