Workforce

Iowa is facing a long-term care workforce crisis.

We are fast approaching a point of no return — where access to long-term care services and supports in Iowa becomes increasingly limited due to the rapidly eroding workforce situation.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa nursing home employment has dropped by nearly 12%, and has yet to recover.

Click here to download the report.

A year-end 2021 IHCA survey shows:

18.5% of Iowa long-term care facilities are facing a staffing crisis right now, and 49.7% say their staffing situation is concerning and they need more staff.
72% say the primary reason for losing staff has been the inability to compete with more enhanced pay offered elsewhere, and 82% have instituted pay increases, 77% have implemented bonuses, 56% have instituted shift differential pay and 53% have offered sign on bonuses to address staffing challenges.
50% are paying additional fees to utilize contract/agency staff to fill staffing gaps. At the same time, 58% say they have lost staff to staffing agencies.
91% have had to ask staff to work overtime or take extra shifts. 72% say that burnout and stress has been a contributing factor to workers leaving.
44% have either reduced or limited admissions due to staffing shortages.

The good news is that there are smart solutions that can be put in place now to change the path we are on — and to ensure access to quality care for Iowans for generations to come. The IHCA’s Long-Term Care Workforce Roadmap outlines a number financial, regulatory and education strategies to create a path forward to addressing the current workforce crisis.