With worker shortages at critical levels, long-term care leaders are undoubtedly looking for creative solutions to their staffing woes.
There have been excellent suggestions from within the LTC world, but I recently came upon a journal article from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that outlined short-term strategies in the general workforce that might be helpful. It was geared towards women and government policies, but many of the workforce participation recommendations could be adapted to the LTC environment and are applicable to both male and female employees.
As facilities struggle with staffing and salaries, these ideas offer good value for the investment of time and money, enhance the culture of the organization, and create jobs that fit with the lifestyle of employees.
What follows are the recommendations of the “rapid expert consultation team” — a group composed of an economist, a policy researcher, a sociologist, and a psychologist — and customized by me as needed to fit the circumstances of long-term care workers and facilities.