Workforce Resiliency

When Good Shepherd Care Center recognized that staff mental health was adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, leadership implemented programs to address the essential needs of their workers. Fatigue caused by the extended challenges of the pandemic led to infection control issues that impacted residents at Good Shepherd. Yet, instead of directly addressing the end result, the facility focused on the root cause – staff mental health and wellness. Some staff programs and activities Good Shepherd implemented included free child daycare, employee breakfasts and yoga, painting, cooking and stress management classes. As a result of these programs, infection rates dropped from 12.94% in January 2023 to 4.3% in July 2023. There were no new resident COVID-19 cases for 21 weeks and nurse turnover at Good Shepherd Care Center is now half the national average and state average in Missouri.

Nottingham Health and Rehabilitation in Olathe, Kansas created numerous programs focused on a person-centered team that has helped avoid using an agency to staff its facility since 2021 and earned them a 95% satisfaction rating among employees. Policies and programs include paying for certified med tech classes, which includes a raise upon completion, and partnering with the Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Board of Regents to offer nursing scholarships. Nottingham also offers flexible schedules to employees and created an employee appreciation/retention committee, which holds skills fairs and other events to help staff. Nottingham’s diversity committee also plans events that focus on inclusion as a workforce and celebrates the different cultures of staff.

Recognizing that a lack of childcare was a major challenge for employees at Rooks County Hospital in Plainville, Kansas, hospital leadership worked with community partners to start a childcare program in the city and will be soon opening a second daycare center on the hospital campus. With 170 employees, the hospital is the largest employer in Plainville (population 1,746) and Rooks County (population 4,937). This community collaboration has allowed the hospital to address workforce challenges as well as the childcare crisis in their community.