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Spoonful of Sugar Podcast

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Ep 1: Empty Bed Syndrome – The Impact of Staffing Shortages

March 21, 2022

Guest Spotlight:
Sherrie Dornberger, Executive Director, NADONA

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When admissions from hospitals and the community plummeted during COVID, occupancy crashed. Despite some gains in 2021, occupancy stood at 75% in September. A return to pre-pandemic rates is still far off, but the virus is no longer the only culprit. Projected financial losses are leading to staff cuts in settings already plagued by vaccine mandates and retention challenges. And fewer workers mean fewer beds. That’s because the loss of direct care workers reduces the number of residents a facility can safely admit without having quality levels suffer. In fact nearly 60% of nursing homes are limiting new admissions due to shortages.

This episode explores how skilled nursing facilities can leverage their partners and vendors to offset these challenges with innovative solutions that can drive better care and outcomes.

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