Ways to Increase Ratio of RNs in Nursing Homes

Nursing homes---or residential facilities for patients who need constant care and supervision---require a variety of nurses to help keep patients as healthy as possible. There are more than 17,000 nursing homes nationwide and approximately 1.5 million nurses and psychiatric aides. About 40 percent of nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants work in nursing-care facilities. Ways to increase the ratio of RNs to patients in nursing homes include providing financial incentives for working in nursing homes and recruiting nurses directly from nursing schools.

Allocate More Funds for Higher Salaries

• According to the Institute for Clinical Outcomes Research at the University of Utah School of Medicine, the higher ratio of nurses to patients there are in a hospital setting results in fewer incidents of hospital-induced patient illnesses, including bed sores (pressure ulcers) and urinary tract infections. In a year-long study conducted by the Institute, researchers found that increasing the ratio of nurses to patients enough to allow nurses to spend between 30 and 40 minutes a day with a patient (as opposed to fewer than 10 minutes a day) resulted in an annual savings of nearly $3,200 per patient.

  One reason for the decrease in hospital-acquired illnesses or conditions is that when more nurses are able to care for a set number of patients, they are able to spend more time with each patient. If a patient-care facility can expect to save about $3,200 per patient per year by increasing the ratio of nurses to patients, then the facility might be able to allocate more money toward nurse salaries. Higher salaries might provide a greater incentive for nurses to work in a nursing home.

Recruit From Nursing Schools

• Nursing school students often begin to look for nursing jobs before they graduate from their programs. In some states, students might even be able to work in a health-care setting as a care partner or student nurse before earning their RN licenses. Therefore, nursing home administrators might be able to attract more RN applicants to work in their facilities if they proactively approach nursing school students with job offers and information.

  Nursing-home administrators may approach students at nursing school job fairs, by speaking with their instructors, posting job announcements on school bulletin boards or in school newsletters and by arranging for students to participate in practice-based learning programs at the nursing-home facilities. A practice-based learning program means that a nursing student will engage in hands-on learning directly in a nursing-home facility by shadowing the nursing staff. In some cases, nursing students will work directly with patients, in which case they might need to be covered by a nursing mentor's insurance plan.

Repay Educational Expenses

• Non-profit nursing-home facilities might be eligible to participate in the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Under the program, registered nurses might be able to have at least 60 percent of their nursing education loans paid for by the federal government, as long as both the nurse and the expenses qualify for reimbursement.

  In order to qualify for the 60-percent-loan repayment, nurses must commit to two years of work with a particular facility. If nurses are able to commit three years to a qualifying facility, they might receive 25 percent of the balance of their original loan. The loan-repayment program is available in addition to salary and benefits offered by a qualifying facility.