Need for workers causing assisted living homes to limit new residents

(FOX 9) - A shortage of workers is causing Minnesota’s nursing homes to place limits on the amount of residents they will admit, a new study shows.

Long-Term Care Imperative, a collaboration of the state’s two largest long-term care associations, says there are currently more than 23,000 direct care positions open across the state. Those openings have caused 69% of nursing homes and 29% of assisted living centers to limit the amount of new residents they can take in. 

The data comes from a study they conducted of 300 senior care providers in Minnesota. 

The job shortages are across of wide variety of roles, including Certified Nursing Assistants, Registered Nurses, as well as laundry and food service workers. 

The study also says that nursing homes across the state all showed a double-digit percentage of unfilled positions for direct care workers and that 25% of direct care and nurse practitioner positions in the metro are currently unfilled. 

"The data on open positions and staff retention confirms that a growing number of elderly Minnesotans will not receive the care they need in our settings, and families will be limited in their choices when they most need our services.  State leaders need to step forward with both emergency action and long-term solutions to help attract and retain workers in the profession of senior care," Patti Cullen, CEO of Care Providers of Minnesota said in a statement.