TX Nursing Home Employees Quitting to Work at McDonald’s

According to reporters at Lubbock’s KLBK13, in a story titled, Nurses Quit Texas Nursing Homes to Work at McDonald’s, we face a dire shortage of nursing home beds by the end of this decade.

Nursing home employees, particularly certified nurse assistants, who are “front line” caregivers, get the worst pay, typically about $8/hour.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s is hiring, and they pay significantly more. Furthermore, their employees don’t have to mess with bed pans or risk injuries from transferring patients.

The story says TX nursing homes lose approximately $300 million per year. 85 percent of TX nursing home residents depend on Medicaid or Medicare. Each Medicaid patient is underfunded by 14 percent.

This dovetails with information I just received from Seven Acres, the Jewish nursing home here in Houston. Their April 2016 newsletter says, “Over 80% of our residents are so ill and indigent that they qualify for the state Medicaid program, which underfunds Seven Acres by $33,000 a year for each Medicaid resident. This translates into a $8 million annual loss for the Home. It is only through the generous support of our friends and community partners that we are able to offset the significant cost of care that Medicaid does not cover.”

Long-term care insurance (LTCi) ownership greatly increases the odds people will not receive care in a nursing home. Even the very best nursing homes – like Seven Acres – struggle with staffing shortages.

I’ve already sent Seven Acres my annual contribution.