LTC 4
5
Karaly
Topic Option 3 - H.R. Training, Professional Development, & Retention: training and education; employee relations; turnover and retention.
From an HR perspective, onboarding staff is the start of an employee’s experience. Orientating new employees to the organization’s policies and procedures is key to a good start. Providing ongoing training, mentoring, educational opportunities, and developmental programs to encourage employee growth for promotion is important for retaining employees (McSweeney-Feld, 2017). Onboarding helps employees process and gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to become and effective individual throughout the organization (McSweeney-Feld, 2017).
Employee relations refers to establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with others throughout the organization, functioning to include, recognize, respect employee rights, monitor unionized activities, retain those with good productivity, and help to build a culture of mutual respect to ensure commitment to the organization (McSweeney-Feld, 2017). A successful area of employee relations is to encompass a variety of activities related to establishing and maintaining effective working relationships in both managerial and nonmanagerial positions (McSweeney-Feld, 2017). Challenges with laws and regulation regarding nondiscrimination and worker safety can be more difficult to address in long-term care than other healthcare sectors due to the nature of the working conditions (McSweeney-Feld, 2017).
Many industries suffer from high turnover rates, especially in today’s world. There is concern over high turnover rates of long-term care workers, such as those working in nursing homes or providing home healthcare (McSweeney-Feld, 2017). The loss of certified nursing assistants and licensed staff poses challenges for long-term administrators and leaders because it affects staffing levels and the quality of care that is provided to residents (McSweeney-Feld, 2017). The average costs of turnover in long-term care are estimated between $4,200 and $5,200 per position (McSweeney-Feld, 2017). Turnover rates are even higher for more skilled employees. Unfortunately, when there is an increased number of positions open, it can cause greater stress and decreased job satisfaction (McSweeney-Feld, 2017). Ways of retaining staff starts with the hiring and onboarding process, especially because today there are competitive salaries and benefits available (Engage With, 2022). Once onboarded, implement a fair schedule, provide advancement opportunities, invest in technology, promote structured mentorship, share in decision making, and most importantly lead by example (Engage With, 2022). References
Engage With. (2022). A Guide to Reducing Staff Turnover and Improving Staff Wellness in Long-Term Care Facilities. Engage With Skills Training Programs. https://engagewith.org/blog/a-guide-to-reducing-staff-turnover-and-improving-staff-wellness-in-long-term-care-facilities/
McSweeney-Feld, M. H. (2017). Dimensions of Long-Term Care Management: An Introduction, Second Edition (Gateway to Healthcare
Indira
Screenings & Background Checks Common practice it is for employers to perform screening and background checks, typically as a practice to ensure safety of the business and its employees. This practice is especially important in the healthcare realm, more so for long-term care facilities and providers caring for the elderly that are likely unable to defend and protect themselves.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) National Background Check Program was established as part of an ACA initiative to perform statewide background checks on all prospective long-term care facility employees and long-term care providers (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2021, para 1). The program is administered by CMS in conjunction with the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation and is purposed to identify efficient, effective, and economical procedures for performing background checks (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2021, para 2). For program participating states, grants are provided to develop systems to perform these background checks against state and federal criminal history for long-term care employee candidates (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019, para 1).
Under the background check program, screenings must include a database and abuse registry search of all states a prospective long-term care employees resided in, a review of state criminal history records, a fingerprint check of the FBIs criminal history records, and a search of records for any state proceedings that may have disqualifying information about the prospective employee (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019, para 12). These background check requirements are applied to the following long-term care facilities or providers:
• skilled nursing facilities; • nursing facilities; • homes health agencies; • long-term care hospitals; • long-term care facilities; • hospice care providers; • personal care services providers; • adult day care providers; and • residential care providers.
CMS and State Survey Preparation & Compliance for the H.R. Department/Personnel Skilled nursing facility and nursing home certification as a Medicare or Medicaid certified provider requires these facilities to be in compliance with Section 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 483, in order to receive reimbursement under Medicare or Medicaid programs. To be certified, a state surveyor completes at minimum a Life Safety Code survey and a Standard survey (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2022, para 2). These surveys are unannounced and fulfil a state’s responsibility to certify skilled nursing facilities or nursing homes are compliant or non-compliant. Compliance certification indicates that a facility abides by federal participation requirements and, in addition to certification, state’s will recommend enforcement actions to the State Medicaid agency for Medicaid and to the regional office for Medicare, the latter determining either facility’s participation eligibility in Medicare program (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2022, para 3 - 4).
References
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2021). CMS National Background Check Program. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/BackgroundCheck
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2022). Nursing homes. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/CertificationandComplianc/NHs
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019). National Background Check Program for long-term-care providers: Assessment of state programs concluded between 2013 and 2016. Retrieved from https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-07-16-00160.pdf
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