Earlier this week, the White House announced the release of the final minimum staffing requirements, effective immediately. The final rule deviates from the original proposal, presenting even more challenges.
The new staffing standards consist of three main components:
- An overall standard of 3.48 nursing hours per patient day, inclusive of CNAs, RNs, and LPNs
- A specific standard requiring 0.55 RNs per patient day and 2.45 CNA hours per patient day
- A mandate for an RN to be present in every building 24/7, across all shifts
At first glance, the rule appears to be nearly impossible to implement given the existing shortage of healthcare workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country is projected to face a shortage of 195,400 nurses by 2031, while the demand for home health aides and personal health aides is expected to increase by 37 percent by 2028.
This shortage is particularly concerning due to the growing population of individuals aged 65 and older in the U.S. Census Bureau data indicates that there were 55.8 million Americans in this age group in 2010, a number that will increase to 77 million by 2034.
Compounding the issue is the evolving expectations of job seekers, who prioritize flexibility, growth, and workplace culture — often perceiving the healthcare space as lacking in these aspects. Today’s job seekers also expect ease and speed in the hiring process. In fact, recent Hireology research found that 57% of healthcare job seekers always take the first offer they receive.
Despite these challenges, the staffing rule is now established. The only way to capture talent and attempt to meet the new standards is to prioritize hiring as a core aspect of your business. Although many acknowledge hiring as a strategic imperative, most are still relying on outdated approaches that hinder progress — ultimately impacting bottom line growth.
While it’s tempting to embrace the bare-bones hiring tools that may be bundled with your payroll software in order to address this challenge, investing in a best-in-class platform purpose-built for the unique hiring challenges facing senior-care facilities is the only way to drive meaningful results and take a critical step in the direction toward a real solution.
Best-in-class platforms allow you to:
- Reach more active job seekers: Connect with top talent ahead of competitors by diversifying your sourcing channels and automating job distribution
- Connect with passive job seekers: Explore pools of talent you’ve previously engaged with (think: former candidates and employees) to capture talent who is not actively searching
- Maximize sourcing and process efficiency: Analyze and optimize recruitment strategies based on performance in order to drive better hiring outcomes while minimizing spend
- Reduce ghosting and hire faster: Leverage automation to accelerate your hiring process and keep great candidates engaged
- Run a hiring process that works for healthcare: The right provider will understand the healthcare hiring space inside and out and will include features that are built specifically for your unique needs
Given the disparity between talent supply and demand, meeting these new ratio mandates becomes a nearly impossible task where effective technology and processes are the only way to win. Hireology is available to help. Take a virtual tour or schedule a demo today to get a complimentary analysis and explore possibilities for your organization.
