The Revolving Door Of Senior Living

By Jason Hazel, PT, DPT,
Chief Strategy And Sales Officer

The senior living industry is at a very interesting time in its history. Two major obstacles face our partners above all others: rising acuity levels of residents and staffing concerns.

In this article, I will attempt to attack both “pain points.”

The first issue: rising acuity levels.

A consistent issue within all of senior living is the “silver tsunami” that is swelling.

Residents making the move to senior living are older than ever before and possess more medical comorbidities than ever before. That, coupled with the limitations the senior living clinical staff are faced with from a regulatory perspective, leads to significant obstacles for senior living operators.

As an example, many senior living communities have one registered nurse on site at any given shift – at best, two. That said, these nurses are often asked to be the primary medical monitor for 100 to 150 residents. All the while, they are asked to do this with many regulatory restraints. Their scope of practice is quite limited in this environment.

That’s a brief look at the matter of rising acuity levels.

The second issue: staffing concerns.

At a recent conference I attended, I heard a speaker say that there will be approximately 0.2 applicants for each open position within senior living by 2020.

“How can my rehab partner help with my staffing issues,” one may ask.

Valid question. So, let’s look at solutions.

A rehabilitation partner can help by supporting them, making their job easier and providing caregiver education so that they can provide more efficient, effective care. That is the direct impact and should be a demand of senior living operators of their rehabilitation partner.

The indirect impact is better care for residents. This, as we all know, is the reason that all senior living community staff went into this realm to work.

A rehabilitation partner should make the lives of senior living frontline staff better. If this is accomplished, we can assist with the “revolving door” that is staff turnover.

As we all know, this is a huge issue within every industry, but a huge opportunity lies within senior living to make significant strides. Use your rehabilitation partner to help you fight this battle.

Now, let’s circle back to the first issue of rising acuity levels. This, too, is an area where a rehab partnership can help.

A true partnership allows senior living operators to have multiple sets of clinical “eyes and ears” engaging with residents. This, combined with good inter-disciplinary communication, allows for optimal care. This can slow down the “revolving door” that is resident turnover and plummeting length of stay.

So, you may ask, “What’s the point?”

The point is you don’t have to do this alone.

We have listened to partners and are actively and collaboratively working on solutions to continue to fight through both of these areas to better serve older adults. With partners, we have decided to fight ageism and continue to strive for optimal functional wellness within the senior living sector.

Partnerships will drive success with senior living moving forward.

With FOX Rehabilitation, we feel that culture drives everything. We have built a culture of respect: respect for one another, our partners, and our patients. We feel that happy, well-trained clinicians will lead to good clinical outcomes.

We have chosen to fight against ageism when most others walk away accepting plummeting function in older adults as a “norm.” We deliver clinical outcomes to partners on a consistent basis. This is done because we feel clinical discussions will drive all major decisions moving forward.

So, some things to ponder: Do you talk with rehab partners consistently about clinical outcomes? How about primary outcomes?

You may ask, “What are primary outcomes?”

Falls, injurious falls, hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations, sub-acute stays, resident turnover are a few primary outcomes. If your partner is not discussing these with you, we should talk. If you refer to your current rehabilitation provider as a vendor, we should talk.

We want to be a partner.

We understand the responsibility you have accepted to care for older adults. It is an enormous responsibility. It is, however, not a burden you need to bear on your own. We can help. Our clinicians can help. We can help solve the problems that you face.

The key: We won’t be your rehabilitation vendor. We will be your partner! Let us help retain those wonderful front line caregivers. Let us help your residents maintain functional wellness. Let’s fight ageism together.