Astudy recently published in the Gerontologist looked at the associations between eight organizational characteristics of nursing homes ("staffing levels, top management turnover, resident case mix, facility quality, ownership, chain membership, size, and Medicaid census") and nursing staff turnover. Data were obtained from a 2003 survey of 854 facility administrators in six states (the states were chosen according to whether they reported high, medium, or lower staff turnover rates; two states from each category were chosen), as well as from the 2004 Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting data and the 2004 Area Resource File. The researchers found that average annual staff turnover rates were 35.8% among RNs, 39.7% among LPNs, and 56.4% among certified nurse aides.

These high turnover rates were associated with lower staffing levels, lower overall quality of care at the facility, for-profit ownership, and a greater number of beds. The researchers concluded that findings of higher turnover rates are associated with lower staffing levels and lower overall quality of care have important implications for federal and state policymakers.

Malvina Kluger

Castle NG, Engberg J. Gerontologist 2006;46(1):62-73.

Section Description

Nursing Counts, highlighting data that illustrate the value of nursing, appears in AJN as a periodic column and is provided by the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, College of Nursing, New York University, http://www.hartfordign.org; [email protected].