We’re on our 3rd administrator in a few years.
As a CNA and a mom with a 5-year old, helping people who can’t take care of themselves is what I do day and night.
Becoming a professional careworker wasn’t something I thought about doing until my own grandpa got sick. I helped care for him. Since then I’ve been working in nursing homes.
I didn’t realize how lucky I was to work in a home where there was a great administrator. She was there for 35 years, putting her heart and soul into that building until she passed away.
Now we are seeing new administrators every year….we’re on our 3rd in just a few years! They don’t know what they are doing.
I’m seeing a lot of new CNAs coming in with barely any training.
They have no idea how hard it will be, the workload is so heavy, they get scared, and they don’t stay. It takes time to get to know the residents, to develop a trusting relationship. It takes time to get the skills and experience you are going to need to make this job work.
If management invested in more training, more support and mentoring of new hires, they would have a better chance at holding onto them. We need to do something to stop the high turnover, the constant short staffing.
When you have 11 residents to one aide, and you have a lot of folks who need a 2-person assist, a lot of Hoyer lift needs, it makes the job nearly impossible.
When management doesn’t recognize the value of good employees, treats them badly, they leave. They go to hospitals or other jobs where the staffing and the pay is better.
Management makes empty promises, then they say “we don’t have the money.” You can’t trust them. Nursing home owners need to prioritize us direct care workers.
We’re the ones who make the difference in how life is for the residents, and that’s what matters most.
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