Post-pandemic facilities are still wrestling with nationwide HCP shortages. With no end in sight, various hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities are struggling with the consequences. Short staffing will cripple the industry if facility managers are not willing to adapt to the times. With the right strategic approach, however, this is still very much possible.
How Do Shortages Cripple Facilities?
Initially, the downsides to the HCP shortages are rather obvious. With fewer people on hand, facilities end up spreading their remaining staff across a large pool of patients and responsibilities. This means the HCPs that choose to stay now have to handle unsustainably brutal and lengthy shifts while handling a workload that should be spread between multiple HCPs. This leaves them stressed, fatigued, and potentially burned out, which increases turnover dramatically.
If left unchecked, the turnover will only cripple operations worse. The remaining HCPs will get more and more stressed, and the quality of care will plummet as a result. The patients, the facilities, and the HCPs themselves will suffer greatly as a result. HCPs must work stressed and burned out, facilities will have their reputations tarnished, and patients will be provided increasingly worse healthcare.
Can the Shortage Damage a Facility’s Bottom Line?
A number of ripple effects spring from this. Appropriate staffing levels are connected with profitability. If there are enough HCP staff on hand, then the quality of care is better, which means facilities earn more as a result. This makes sense, as HCPs are less burdened with tasks and responsibilities, and can focus their energies on their regular duties and only a handful of patients. When a facility’s staffing levels are less adequate and the care quality takes a hit, your profitability will ultimately plummet over the long run. Less and fewer people will admit themselves to your facility, because of the negative reputation that it has generated.
What Can Be Done to Address These Problems?
Staffing solutions have developed at a rapid pace, during the pandemic. Facilities get on board experienced professional HCPs to weather the storm and keep staffing shortages level. Though a short-term solution, this allows them to survive surges in demand or bide their time, before their newly hired HCPs are prepared to contribute in a meaningful capacity. In particular, the VitaWerks app empowers facilities with the ability to bring in the best HCPs in their area, as soon as possible. Healthcare managers can browse through a curated list of the finest RNs, LPNs/LVNs, and CNAs around. All their credentials, qualifications, and past work experience is available to see, at the click of a button. Find the best HCPs for your facility in no time, with the VitaWerks app
