The SCAN Foundation

There is a high turnover among certified nursing assistants working in nursing homes. This hurts the quality of care for people receiving long-term services and supports that have the people who care for them leave quickly and unexpectedly. The solution may be the appointment of a retention specialist, a person whose job is to stay in close contact with the workers, find out their goals and grievances, and figure ways to keep them on the job, according to an August 2008 study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “A Facility Specialist Model for Improving Retention of Nursing Home Staff,” published in the Journal Gerontologist.

“Retention specialists” were appointed and given training in various nursing homes, and the outcome showed improvement in turnover compared with nursing homes without the specialists. “In treatment facilities, CNA [certified nursing assistants] turnover rates significantly decreased from baseline to 12-month assessment as compared to control facilities,” the study said. “CNA ratings of quality of care increased from baseline to six-month assessment. Similar change was seen in quality of staff education and facility trainings.”