A number of recent healthcare initiatives are placing new importance on the non-acute sector. Plans to improve unnecessary readmissions, offer bundled payment options, and manage population health all require better collaboration between acute- and non-acute organizations. Yet, at the very time non-acute care organizations need to step up and become stronger partners with payers and acute-care hospitals, many are struggling with fundamental workforce issues that make this transformation difficult. Both nursing homes and home health organizations are challenged by staff shortages, high turnover, insufficiently trained staff, and traditionally low wages.
Amidst this inner turmoil, technology in the non-acute space is advancing rapidly, and more stringent government regulations are raising the bar on quality. The promise of progress in this sector has never been greater. As HR leaders who see these changes on the horizon, we must ask ourselves, "How can we attract, develop, and retain the employees we need to fill these vital non-acute roles of the future?"