Nursing home employees see slight pay raises in 2012; turnover still a problem

National salary averages increased slightly across all job titles in 2012, according the “Nursing Home Salary & Benefits Report” released this week. However, among the 79 job titles surveryed, most positions received a pay raise of less than the 1.7 percent inflation rate for 2012.

Those who received the largest percentage increases from 2011 to 2012 (more than 2.5 percent) worked in the therapy/rehabilitation positions, including occupational therapists, occupational therapy aides and occupational therapy assistants.

Pay increases for management tracks are still based predominantly upon merit, while increases for clinical positions tend to use both merit and step increases.

Across facility types, the three highest paid positions for 2012 were chief financial officer ($98,047), nursing home administrator ($96,946) and director of therapy/rehabilitation ($91,061). The positions of executive director and assistant director were not listed in the national average comparisons.

The best-paying regions, overall? The New England and Middle Atlantic states and California.

Turnover rates continue to be a challenge for the industry. The highest instance of RN turnover was in the East South Central region (57.6 percent), much higher than the national average of 38.3 percent. Among RNs, LPNs and CNAs combined, the lowest turnover rates were in the Middle Atlantic and New England states.

The report, a partnership effort of LeadingAge and the American Health Care Association, gathered reponses from 2,467 nursing homes employing a total of 205,000 staffers. More than 82 percent of the facilities surveyed were for-profit.

The full report is available from the Hospital and Healthcare Compensation Service.