The Closing of Wisconsin Nursing Homes and the Staffing Crisis Needs Everyones Attention. Last Thursday was Valentine’s Day, but that day my heart was breaking. It started as a pleasant Thursday. The facility I consulted with had a deficiency-free survey — a great accomplishment for their team. The WI DON Council received its provider number from the California Board of Registered Nursing. A wonderful addition to offering continuing education hours to our members. I was appointed to be a part of the Wisconsin Dementia Task Force on behalf of the WI DON Council. A tremendous honor to advocate for our dementia resident on behalf of our members. All in all, it had been a week of positives. Then I heard the news. Word was out that yet another facility in Milwaukee is closing. The Director of Nursing, one of our members, and her staff are going through the challenge of closing a facility and displacing the elderly from what they know to call home. It makes me sad. It makes me angry. It makes me worried. Wisconsin, we should be scared. I’m scared! Why Scared! This announcement makes six nursing home announcing closures in the first seven weeks of 2019. 27 nursing homes closed in 2016-2018. Many of these closures were related to the low Medicaid reimbursement rate. When all is said and done, Wisconsin will have lost 33 long term care facilities since 2016. Read on after you have had a moment to digest the figures above. How can we sustain this rate of closure? How can we continue to care for our most vulnerable population, if homes are not around when they are needed. We all understand the push for home based care, […]
Caregiver Career Program
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services released the memo below regarding a Caregiver Career Program to help address the CNA staffing crisis that Wisconsin is facing. While we know more is needed, the Wisconsin Director of Nursing Council applauds this action to help bring more CNA’s into the workforce. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2017 Contact: Elizabeth Goodsitt, 608-266-1683 Jennifer Miller, 608-266-1683 Wisconsin Launches Caregiver Career Program Innovative program to help recruit, train, and retain nurse aides In an effort to attract and retain more nursing home caregivers, Wisconsin is launching an innovative program called the Caregiver Career Program. The Department of Health Services (DHS) has received federal approval to move forward with the more than $2.3 million investment to implement the Wisconsin Caregiver Career Program, designed to add up to 3,000 nurse aides to the workforce, in this high demand field. “We recognize that Wisconsin needs committed caregivers for our state’s most vulnerable adults,” said Secretary Linda Seemeyer. “As our population ages, it becomes even more critical that we invest in our workforce, so those served in nursing homes get the best quality of care.” DHS is developing the program in partnership with nursing homes, LeadingAge Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Health Care Association, and the Wisconsin Technical College System. The program will offer training and testing at no cost to students, and also implements a $500 retention bonus for nurse aides, after six months on the job at a nursing home. The program will also include a marketing and recruitment plan to not only increase the number of people entering caregiver careers, but also increase awareness about the value of caregiving and the change caregivers can make in the lives of Wisconsin’s elders. Nurse aides provide […]
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CNA Staffing Shortage – Do One Thing Campaign
CNA Staffing Shortage – Do One Thing Campaign
Below you will find a timeline of some of the events that have taken place in an effort for the Wisconsin Director of Nursing Council to bring awareness to the CNA staffing crisis. In 2016 the WDONC embarked on an effort to fix one piece of the complex puzzle that has put Wisconsin in a severe CNA staffing crisis. Currently, we are working with a second legislative body to try an bring the regulation for hours of instructional training in line with the federal standard of 75-hours. Thank you to WHCA and LeadingAgeWI for spearheading this effort. Also, thank you to Rep. Petryk from District 93 who has worked with his assembly and senate colleagues to bring this bill to life. It would not be where it is without their leadership on this issue. ___________________________________________________________________________ January 15, 2020 AB-76 was brought to the Assembly floor for a vote to override the veto of Governor Evers on the CNA Training Hours Bill. Last year, the bill had bipartisan support in the Assembly and passed the Senate unanimously. We would like to thank Rep. Warren Petryk – District 93 for his work since 2016 in bringing this bill to life and his continued belief that our providers need action that moves the needle. You can listen to the archived press conference were Rep. Petryk discusses the override. HERE Nov. 20, 2019 Governor Evers vetos AB 76. View the joint provider Press Release on the Veto of AB76 that would have helped address the CNA Workforce Shortage Oct. 9th, 2019 AB-76 passed on a 3-2 party-line vote in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee: — GOP-Testin, Kooyenga, and Jacques voting yes; — Dem-Erpenbach and Carpenter voting no. […]
