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Staffing shortages hitting care facilities nationwide
FOX 26 Tiffany Justice has more as staffing shortages at nursing care facilities are occurring nationwide.
HOUSTON - Leaders in health care are urging lawmakers to address nursing homes and long-term care facilities staffing shortages.
A national survey shows six out of 10 homes are limiting new patients. FOX 26 took a closer look into this issue.
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"It absolutely is a crisis, when you look at nursing homes in Texas. Even prior to COVID, there was already a significant shortage in staff," says Kevin Warren with the Texas Health Care Association.
These facilities are struggling, some have closed their doors. Warren says between January 2020 to September 2021, 30 facilities have closed their doors statewide.
"Long-term care in Texas had the greatest employment loss across the healthcare continuum," says Warren. "We lost almost 10,000 full-time employees, that’s nine percent of the total staff population."
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The American Health Care Association, in a survey published this month and presented to lawmakers on Capitol Hill shows that 87% are currently facing moderate to high staffing shortages. Of those, nearly half (48%) are facing a high level of staffing shortages. 98% are experiencing difficulty hiring staff.
Warren says hospitals are also seeing the side effects.
"It also puts strain on the relationships," said Warren. "Hospitals are looking to discharge, but now facilities are having access issues."
"It’s all the health care settings, where the nursing home shorting is felt," says Bryon Kelly, Executive Director of Focused Care at Beechnut. "It’s not an easy profession, you know, caring for someone takes a toll on people’s mental health, emotional even physically."
Kelly says they have been able to manage staffing, but it’s fragile and can change at a moment’s notice.
"We are always looking to fulfill the needs of the community, it’s a very fragile environment," says Kelly.
"The Texas legislature has to see funding for these long-term facilities as a priority this coming session," said Warren. "And we have to adequately fund the Medicaid rate here in Texas to compete in these hyper-competitive markets."