The number one pain point among care at home leaders continues to be recruitment and retention, followed by regulatory compliance and growing their market share, according to a .
, 小猪视频 Senior Director of Professional Services Christina Andrews hosted a discussion on navigating these workforce management and regulatory challenges with Nick Seabrook, Managing Principal and Senior Vice President at ; Trisha Crissman, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at ; and John Gochnour, Chief Operating Officer at .
Recruitment and Retention
The care at home industry is more competitive for talent than it has been in the past, especially because many clinicians left the field during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gochnour noted that organizations need to create enticing opportunities to draw these employees back in, both financially and in a way that makes their work meaningful.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about making sure [employees] feel valued and connected to the purpose of their organization and the purpose that they complete each day,鈥� Gochnour said. 鈥淗ow do we make sure that we are being innovative from a compensation standpoint, from a meaningful work standpoint, so that people feel like they can come here and they can create a career at the pinnacle.鈥�
Prioritizing employee satisfaction and reducing obstacles is a key strategy for talent retention. Crissman鈥檚 organization conducted an employee survey to determine which obstacles were creating the most stress for employees so leadership could focus their efforts appropriately.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a vital connection between leadership, a healthy work culture and the success of our industry,鈥� Crissman said. 鈥淥ur ultimate desire is to increase [our staff鈥檚] loyalty to our organization and improve their overall well-being as they care for patients in our community. 鈥� We had to do [a survey and listening sessions] because what we thought was a problem before and we thought were solving for, we weren鈥檛.鈥�
Employee engagement is also important for staff retention. This includes effective onboarding and training, a culture of developing staff, low turnover rates and flexibility to focus on case management.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e consistently having high turnover and you鈥檙e having to hire new staff, those staff aren鈥檛 going to be as productive,鈥� Seabrook said. 鈥淩eally having a robust patient care management program is something I really think is most important to control driving those margins from a productivity and cost standpoint.鈥�
Productivity is important for an organization鈥檚 operations, but it also can鈥檛 be the only focus for employee engagement.
鈥淎 lot of [care management] requires training and education and development,鈥� Gochnour said. 鈥淚f our approach is, 鈥楯ust go get 25 productivity points,鈥� we鈥檙e missing the boat and the opportunity to show those employees that we value them and that we are there to help them succeed,鈥� Gochnour said.
Regulatory Challenges
Changes to reimbursement and increased costs for patient care are creating regulatory challenges for care at home providers.
鈥淭he reality is we are facing a very unique and difficult environment, and it鈥檚 going to demand more from us as operators than it ever has before,鈥� Gochnour said. 鈥淩eimbursement rate challenges force us to deliver care more efficiently. 鈥� Meanwhile, our clinical leaders are coming in and saying, 鈥榃e need more.鈥欌��
Panelists emphasized the importance of staff education, accountability around documentation quality, monitoring cash flow and measuring meaningful key performance indicators. This is especially important because home health organizations may be facing additional reimbursement cuts from Medicare in 2024.
鈥淵ou need to take a good, hard look at your non-Medicare contracts rates,鈥� Seabrook said. 鈥淲hat are you getting, and are they sufficient to be able to maintain some kind of a margin? Otherwise, if not, you鈥檙e going to be out of business.鈥�
Role of Technology
Strong technology partners can help care at home organizations navigate these challenges and efficiently implement strategies for success.
鈥淭echnology has, is and will continue to impact us profoundly around patient outcomes and patient experience,鈥� Crissman said. 鈥淥ur challenges are around helping our clinicians understand that this is a good thing and that more is better. 鈥� We should be welcoming it to help us care for more people who need our help every single day.鈥�
Gochnour agreed, saying, 鈥淯ltimately, that鈥檚 our charge, to care for patients in an extraordinary way to deliver extraordinary clinical outcomes and to change people鈥檚 lives and do it efficiently. 鈥� At every stage of that effort, it benefits from great technology.鈥�