News Article

High Staff Turnover: A Job Quality Crisis in Nursing Homes

September 08, 2022

Data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show that, on average, nursing homes experience 52% turnover of direct care staff each year, with roughly 30% of homes experiencing over 60% staff turnover.

A new Consumer Voice report shows that nursing homes with higher staff turnover:

• Provide poorer care
• Have higher instances of resident abuse
• Have higher numbers of substantiated resident complaints

What the nursing home industry describes as a staffing crisis is a job-quality crisis. The average annual income for a certified nursing assistant (CNA) is $25,200. 34% of nursing home direct care nursing staff rely on public assistance. Nursing home direct care staff work in highly-stressful environments, where they provide skilled care to our most vulnerable citizens, but are paid inadequate wages and are provided poor benefits. These and other factors contribute to nursing homes having to replace every other nursing staff worker each year.

In the new report, we look at nursing staff turnover across the country and its negative effect on quality of care and quality of life for residents. The report examines the causes of high staff turnover and offers solutions to the various causes.

Read the full report.