Working in a nursing home or senior housing facility is a piece of (funnel) cake…
…said no one ever!
As most leaders in senior housing see it, the seven main tigers in your daily three-ring circus are:
Census issues
Staffing concerns
Survey challenges
5 Star Ratings
Budgeting
Reports
NOI
So, what’s so hard about taming these tigers? It’s a breeze, right?
And honestly, the list of tigers barely scratches the surface. There are a thousand things that can go miraculously right or quickly astray, on a daily basis, in nursing homes and senior living facilities all over the country.
Not to mention these tigers can eventually cause…
Burnout…at every level of the organization.
Corporate leaders! If you take only one section to heart, please pay attention and absorb this next paragraph.
Turnover in key leadership positions at the facility level, especially turnover of Administrators and DONs is THE cause of PLUMs.
So what are PLUMs? They are…
Poor financial performers with;
Lackluster financial, survey and resident outcomes;
Under-utilization of empty beds; and,
Marginal customer reviews.
I hate PLUMs and you should too.
But what if I told you that 80% of the challenges are manageable, and not just manageable, but will actually take care of themselves if you implement the strategies I’m planning to lay out for you?
Would you be interested in a somewhat unorthodox management style? How do you feel about shaking up the status quo?
You think that’s something you could lend your attention to for a few moments? Just to hear what I have to say?
Would you be able to open your mind to maybe…just possibly…considering some alternative ways of leading?
I dislike using clichés but they’re usually true. And it has often been said the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.
Wouldn’t you agree that pretty much defines how nursing homes and senior housing has been handled over the past several decades?
I find most leaders are forced into being reactive as opposed to having the luxury of being proactive because their days are full to overflowing with paperwork and other time-consuming tasks.
Many top leadership figures in this industry are either already suffering from, or on the verge of succumbing to, incredible burnout…too many hours, too many days, too many headaches…eventually it takes its toll.
Every day many of us go home feeling like an exhausted firefighter. Instead of having enough time during the day to identify sparks that can be easily contained, we discover, often too late, those unattended sparks have become raging operational hoops of fire.
Stick with me and you’ll discover, not only how to fix the items listed above and how to avoid PLUMs, but also how to become a better leader…one with less stress and the benefits of better key factors, metrics and outcomes.
