Question

Type of care provided

Care in this capacity can range from a short-term to long-term based upon the changing needs of the patient. Patient age can range from pediatric to elderly. Care can be provided in the patient’s private home, group home, or assisted living setting. Medical homes fall into this category and are a new focus of Accountable Care Organizations through the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Scenario

As the Director of Human Resources within a home care environment, you are responsible for the ad- ministration of the organization’s labor budgets. Your Director of Clinical Services, who has a MSN, has presented some challenges regarding the compensation of her staff.

This specific assisted nursing facility focuses on long-term care, providing approximately 500 nursing and support personnel who deliver direct and indirect care to approximately 225 patients representing various stages of acuity and need for nursing care. Your overall labor budget represents approximately 60% of expense revenue.

The Director of Clinical Service complains that several of her registered nurses are threatening to leave the organization, allegedly because a competitor nearby pays their nurses higher wages. In fact, Direc- tor of Clinical Service asks for an across-the-board immediate pay adjustment of an additional $5.00 an hour for the nurses. She is awaiting a response from you before the day is over.

Question 1

What steps would you, as the Director of Human Resources, take to rectify this issue?

Instruction

In your capacity as the Director of Human Resources, develop a plan for how you would conduct an internal and external wage analysis of your organization and respond to the impact this would have on the organization.

Answer 1