Alan Helgeson (announcer):
“Reimagining Rural Health,” a podcast series brought to you by Sanford Health. In this series, we explore the challenges facing health care systems across the country from improving access to equitable care, building a sustainable workforce, and discovering innovative ways to deliver high-quality, low-cost services in rural and underserved populations. Each episode examines how Sanford Health and other health systems are advancing care for the unique communities they serve.
In this episode, Matt Holsen with Sanford Health News talks with Tammi Lehto, administrator, and Allyson Tator, administrator home health, at Good Samaritan Society – Loveland Village in Colorado on the topic of retaining the senior caregiving workforce.
Matt Holsen (host):
I'm chatting with two administrators from the Good Samaritan Society in Loveland, Colorado. Tammi Lehto leads a very large campus with a variety of services, and Allyson Tator directs the home health team. Thanks for being here.
Tammi Lehto (guest):
Thank you for having us.
Allyson Tator (guest):
Thank you.
Matt Holsen:
We're talking about retaining caregivers, the senior caregiving workforce. What are some of the biggest challenges you face when doing that, Tammi?
Tammi Lehto:
I think we're still seeing a little bit of the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic with some occupational burnout and, you know, just trying to work with our staff. Just engaging a little bit more and trying to recognize that stressor in their life.
We also have competitive wages with other competitors in the area. There's a strong desire for more enhanced work-life balance with our staff, and just patient safety overall of our residents, and the overall workload I think are probably some of the biggest factors that we are kind of still seeing.
Matt Holsen:
And for people who don't know, Loveland is a big facility. How many employees do you have?
Tammi Lehto:
Oh gosh. Well, we are a continuing-care campus. So, we have independent living, assisted living, and then our skilled nursing, which we call “health care.” And I'm the administrator for the health care side of Loveland Village. We probably have anywhere from maybe close to 275 employees overall on our campus.
Matt Holsen:
Allyson, what are some of the challenges your team faces?
Allyson Tator:
I think for me, just having all of my staff at different campuses, not only at Loveland but also in the community, is the communication. I think that's a huge barrier to just making sure that everybody is informed and feels like empowered and recognized. I mean, it's obviously something that you have to have a heart for and a lot of the staff that I do retain have been with me 12 years, five years-plus. I think that's the hardest part is finding that staff member that can do it and encouraging them and knowing that it's hard taking care of somebody. And sometimes they can be grumpy and don't take it personal and but also support them.
Matt Holsen:
What are some of the other roles that fill out your team?
Allyson Tator:
There's the caregiver. I have business office coordinators in the office. Then I have nursing and therapy.
Matt Holsen:
So what strategies are you using to try to address this issue that are proven to be successful, do you think?
Allyson Tator:
For me, it's like I always have an open door. They also, if my door is closed, they know they can text me if I'm in a meeting. I think that they all know that. And that's kind of when I came over to Services at Home side in 2016, that's kind of been mine, where I try to send cards. I try to send texts. I recognize them. When they start orientation, I ask what their favorite soda is or just little things because I think that goes a long way when you just notice them for those little things. Birthdays, anniversaries, kids’ birthdays, husbands’ birthdays.
Matt Holsen:
The little things mean everything to many people. Tammi, what's working for your team?
Tammi Lehto:
When we do have a new hire, we do what's called bubble wrapping the employee, and we highly try to protect them in that first 90 days of employment. We have a scoreboard posted at our facility, and we do have scoreboard rallies to celebrate when they reach their 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days. There's dancing, there's music, it's just a great time overall.
But part of that is also our current employees and trying to invest with them at the same time. So, we connect them – our new employees – with mentors. And so we celebrate those mentors with mentor bonus checks. Like big checks, like you're on the “Price Is Right” on our scoreboards.
We also do employee referral bonuses. We started a new program called “pick up points” about a year ago as well. So, when staff do pick up shifts, they earn points and they can cash them in on a catalog that we have. And so, we award those at our scoreboard rallies when somebody does cash in for pick up points. And so that's like allowed us to now be totally agency free for over a year now. So, that in and of itself is a great celebration.
And then one of the things, as Allyson was alluding to, finding that perfect caregiver, whether it's a CNA or nurse, especially with my director of nursing, it's becoming more, our interviews are more intentional. More behavioral-based questions, engaging other staff as part of the interview process or taking that prospective new employee on a tour so you're just trying to find the right fit for success for the new employee and then also for the organization.
Matt Holsen:
That's incredible. So, you're obviously not sitting back and you're being active in this and trying to recruit and retain. How do you gather and act on feedback from your caregiving staff?
Tammi Lehto:
We do huddles throughout the day. Some of them might be like intentional touch points and just rounding, seeing how the staff is doing that day. What their challenges are? Is there anything we can do as far as assisting with supplies or answering questions? So those are throughout the day. And then we also obviously just completed our Peakon engagement survey. So, we'll be finishing up a review of all of our comments, putting our action plan together.
And just for example, I have a meeting scheduled with my staff next week just to kind of share the results from our side of the building and just try to engage them and OK, what are some things we can work on? You know, like what are your specific challenges? Because if you're trying to put an action plan together, you really need to involve your staff in that, otherwise your action plan could go in a totally different direction that isn't going to address what their concerns are.
Matt Holsen:
Allyson, what would you add to that?
Allyson Tator:
I would say that it's a complete blessing to be at Loveland’s campus and I think for my staff there, they feel that, and it does, it's a family. It's a happy environment. I know when there are tours, when there's anything that's going on or at when I am taking a new hire around, they're like, “Is it really this happy?” It is. It's not me. I mean, people, the residents are happy. The staff is happy, you know, they're there.
And so, yeah, I would just probably say along that it's knowing your staff, just really being there for them and having them know that they're a part of it and that you're trying to communicate all of the changes that happen with our company, let alone at a location level. So, they feel like they're not being blindsided. That they know what's going on.
Matt Holsen:
How do you see your roles evolving to better support caregiver retention, Allyson?
Allyson Tator:
I would say to continue to be positive. I know I have a board in my office that says, “I get to, instead of I have to.” I get to go to work. I get to make a difference. I also have it at home, but I think that is something to make sure that I stay positive even when there's days you close your door for a minute and you're taking a deep breath yourself.
But I think that positivity and then just reassuring people that it's the right fit. That it's a great place and all the other benefits our company has.
Tammi Lehto:
And for myself, I've been in this industry for over 30-plus years now and it's always been highly recognized that for the resident and their quality of life, the biggest factor for that is the CNA that is assigned to them. So, you can't utilize techniques that you might've used like when I first started. You have to evolve with all the changes that are happening yourself.
In our workforce now, they want to be engaged and they want to be involved in the decision making. So, I feel like the more transparent you can be with everything, the better. And as Allyson has said, we're a fun campus and we enjoy having fun and you should have fun at work. So, we go dancing down the halls, you know. There's just all kinds of fun themed events that happen on our campus. And so, the more that you can do all that, I think is for success in the long run.
Matt Holsen:
I've been there a few times. It really is a fun community like you describe. I want to thank you both for joining me here in this discussion about this important topic, retaining the senior caregiving workforce. Have a great day. Thanks.
Allyson and Tammi:
Thank you. You too.
Alan Helgeson:
You've been listening to “Reimagining Rural Health,” a podcast series brought to you by Sanford Health. Hear more episodes in this series or other Sanford Health series on Apple, Spotify and news.sanfordhealth.org.
