"Next March, Mary Voerding is due to celebrate her 30th year at Maplewood Rehabilitation Center, a suburban Twin Cities nursing home where she has worked as a nurse, care coordinator and now front desk receptionist. Cracking jokes last month about how she could not wait to get photographed, Voerding put visitors, patients and management at ease. Like many nursing home workers, Voerding said that she sees her job as a calling to help those in need. Unlike many nursing facility employees, Voerding has stuck around."
"Vikki Knigge, a licensed practical nurse at the Shores of Worthington, likes acting as a companion to residents. "I just want to make sure their day is special and make sure that I make them laugh, and I listen to them and let them express what they need to express," she said. She works between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. each shift, which allows her to take care of her granddaughter during the day."
"Thirty-six percent of all Minnesota nursing home workers quit or are fired within one year of starting, according to data the nursing homes' themselves report to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. These self-reported turnover rates run the gamut between 100% annual staff retention at Good Shepherd Lutheran Home in Rushford to 25% at the Villas at Osseo in the Hennepin County city of its namesake. But if the turnover numbers vary, nursing home workers tell distressingly similar tales of stress and fatigue."
High annual turnover plagues Minnesota nursing homes, with 36% of workers quitting or being fired within one year per facility-reported data. Turnover rates vary widely, from full retention at one facility to 25% at another. Staff report widespread understaffing, stress, and fatigue. Some long-term employees remain, exemplified by a worker celebrating 30 years and another who balances night shifts with caregiving for a grandchild. Operators have pushed back against state stabilization efforts. Financial pressures and debates over workforce standards compound staffing challenges across the sector.
Read at KAXE
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