The increase in life expectancy creates, in addition to medical issues, HR management challenges in nursing homes and assisted living homes. What is the correct way to manage the nursing, medical, and therapeutic workforce so as to provide the best service to the patients?
Our population is aging. According to estimates, by the year 2030 the number of persons aged 65 will double. The growing numbers of this population pose a real challenge to nursing homes and assisted living homes that provide long-term nursing care to their residents, some of whom suffer from chronic diseases.
HR personnel who manage the work schedules and shifts at these institutions are faced with the difficult task of providing the best service to patients. The task is especially challenging because care is provided 24/7, and each shift involves different costs, composition of staff, and amount of work. Workers request to swap shifts, especially during holidays and weekends.
If we add to the complex picture the facts that the age of the workforce in the field also increases, that there is a constant shortage of high-quality employees, and that turnover is high because of mental and physical burnout, it becomes clear that the situation requires employers to manage more efficiently their personnel using technology.
The most expensive component of long-term care for the aged population is not the equipment, medications, or the real estate but rather the workforce, the cost of which is constantly on the rise. The more complex the condition of the patient or of the elderly person, the more complex is the care that it requires and the greater the experience that is needed on the part of the caregivers. This translates into more expensive personnel costs in the areas of placement, training, and retention.
The level of sophistication required of the professionals responsible for assigning personnel to shifts is increasing. On one hand it is necessary to maintain a high level of care and on the other to operate within the constraints of the personnel budget - a difficult balance to achieve, especially at institutions financed by some form of public funds. While overstaffing of shifts results in a needless increase in costs, understaffing affects the level of service provided to patients and may fall critically short.
Advanced software for scheduling and shift management takes into account the variables required for adequate staffing, in the right place at the right time, and helps spread the workload correctly and in the most appropriate way, enhancing the satisfaction of patients and caregivers alike.
Experience in the field (IDC Health Insight report, 2012) indicates that the correct match between patients and caregivers significantly lowers the costs of caring for recurring illness. The reason is that nurses who know their patients and their needs can prevent deterioration in the patient’s condition, and when the condition of the patient improves and the patient is stable, the caregiver is better equipped with precise guidelines for continued treatment.
HR technology can provide a solution to the operational needs of care-giving institutions. They help identify who is working where and how much, respond immediately to staffing needs, manage deviations in work time, pay employees accurately for their work, and provide managers a proper picture about what is happening in the field and what resources are available to them.
HR solutions also help address the problem of high personnel turnover. When the system takes into account the needs of employees (work-life balance, shift requirements, accumulated skills and experience, etc.) it ultimately produces more satisfied employees. A better and more accurate allocation also means avoiding situations of understaffing, a condition that can result in unnecessary load on employees and increased burnout, in addition to the risk of non-compliance with heavy fines. A proper HR system can also help manage training programs and courses that improve the level of caregivers and their work satisfaction.
In a situation in which HR technology ensures the provision of high-quality and more satisfied personnel, the patients also benefit. They receive more appropriate, better focused, and more personal treatment at the highest level.