There is no question that there is a major labor shortage, we are suffering from this ourselves. A recent report said that senior housing facilities are also being hard hit, with employees hard to find and commercial property values sinking as few investors want to be in this type of industry. However, it’s unclear that many are doing everything in their power to please the customers. About 39% of senior housing associations surveyed between July 22 and August 8 said that they definitely or probably would impose vaccine mandates. That’s a surprisingly low number. We have seen an influx of new clients due to adult children moving their parents out of facilities due to their fear of COVID-19. That’s only likely to increase as new variants spread. Thankfully, President Biden has stepped in and said that if nursing homes don’t require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 they will no longer receive Medicare or Medicaid funding. The current nursing home vaccination rate sits at only 61.5%, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This is only a hair above the total population. Some nursing home executives have bristled at the new Biden mandate, stating that staff departures may exceed 20%. Good riddance I say to the anti-vaxers. Keep them away from our seniors.
