'We're in a real crisis': Skilled nurse shortage worries families, staff
Nursing homes lost about 220,000 jobs and assisted living communities lost 38,000 jobs since March 2020.
Skilled nurse shortage raises concerns
Nursing homes and assisted living communities are facing a shortage of skilled nurses, in part due to the pandemic.
Healthcare heroes have had it hard during the pandemic, working long hours and seeing so much loss. Some have retired early after getting burned out.
This has contributed to a lack of skilled nurses in nursing homes and assisted living homes.
The pandemic isn’t the only cause of a skilled nurse shortage, although it has played a role. Low pay is another.
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But regardless of the reason, the industry is facing what professionals are calling a "crisis."
This week was the first time in about a year Lilian Veal saw her 23-year-old son in person.
Cyrano Veal’s friends and family call him C Note.
He lives at an assisted living home in Las Vegas.
The CDC ordered long-term care facilities to temporarily close to the public last year.
The CDC allowed them to reopen in September 2020 but still limited the number of visitors.
But the Veal family waited longer to be safe.
The time apart was tough.
"You can barely see him, and you can’t even help him at all," Lilian Veal said.
C Note has been in long-term care since trying to kill himself when he was 16.
His dad Cyrus said, "He had left us a note and said ‘It’s not your fault. These migraines were killing me. Dad, you told me to be strong, but I can’t take it anymore. I have to tap out, but we'll see you again.’"
The Veals say they know the staff at Marquis Centennial Hills takes good care of their son. But the nurse shortage is concerning.
"My son is not a little guy anymore. He’s big, 190 pounds, 6’4," Cyrus Veal said. "So it takes a couple of people."
The American Healthcare Association reports nursing homes lost about 220,000 jobs and assisted living communities lost 38,000 jobs since March 2020.
"We’ve never had a situation like this where virtually every assisted living and skilled nursing company in the country is experiencing a problem," said Mark Parkinson, the president and CEO of AHCA.
Now, some facilities have had to close or limit new patients.
Marquis Centennial Hills in Las Vegas has not reached that point, but they are down about 13 full-time employees.
"So you’re trying to figure out how do you manage already stressed resources to comply with these above and beyond requirements," said Jacob Atwood, administrator at the assisted living home.
The number of skilled nursing jobs has decreased since the start of the pandemic.
Karen Barker is a licensed practical nurse. She's been in the business for 40 years.
"I just love what I do," Barker said. But even she’s burned out.
"I’m thinking right now of wanting to retire early. It’s not like years ago. It’s very much different in nursing," Barker said.
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Currently, about two million people are living at skilled nursing or assisted living facilities. On average, it’s about five million a year.
The AHCA says a long-term solution to the workforce challenges is more funding from the state and federal governments to increase pay.
"We know that right now we’re in a real crisis, and we need help," Parkinson said.