COVID-era nursing home staff crunch hurting hospitals, too
Pennsylvania nursing homes say they are coping with dire staffing shortages that have forced many of them to stop accepting new residents, which in turn is preventing hospitals jammed with COVID-19 patients from discharging those who require lower levels of care.
Industry officials met with Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration this week to ask for help, and to press their case for a $200 million infusion from the state’s share of the federal coronavirus relief package signed by President Joe Biden in March. Long-term care facilities say the money would be spent on retention bonuses for current workers.
“This is the worst workforce crisis I’ve ever seen, and there honestly seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel,” said Anne Henry, senior vice president and chief government affairs officer at LeadingAge PA, a trade group.
Read the full story from Associated Press here.
