Revolving door: Why are nurses leaving their jobs and then coming right back?

Revolving¹ door: Why are nurses leaving their jobs and then coming right back?

Transcript²

Nursing home workers, tired of low pay and long hours, are quitting then working with staffing agencies to return to work with more pay. Some nursing homes say that could put them out of business.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There's a strange thing happening in nursing homes across the country. Staff members, fed up with low pay and long hours, are leaving but then coming right back. Indiana Public Broadcasting's Justin Hicks explains.

JUSTIN HICKS, BYLINE³: Roughly a quarter of all nursing homes say they have a shortage of nurses. Zina Lowery (ph), a licensed⁴ practical nurse in Indiana, says that's because even before COVID, it was a nearly impossible job.

ZINA LOWERY: They aren't being compensated⁵ properly. They are being asked to pick up extra shifts, to pick up double shifts. And that's a lot. Everyone needs to treat their nurses better.

HICKS: Add COVID challenges to that, and it's easy to see why nurses are leaving nursing homes in droves. Many, like Lowery, who are sticking around, are going to staffing agencies. They offer flexible, short-term contracts and, lately, pay a lot more for the exact same work. Lowery says right now, she can make roughly $20 an hour more than when she was a nursing home staff member. In areas with really critical shortages, nurses can make even more.

LOWERY: We're gaining that power back. We're understanding our worth and knowing our power. And we're negotiating that.

HICKS: But some nursing home officials are crying foul⁶. They say the rising rates they're having to pay staffing agencies amounts to price gouging⁷. Here's Bernie McGuinness, CEO of Majestic⁸ Care, a company with long-term care facilities across the Midwest.

BERNIE MCGUINNESS: To be blunt, I feel taken advantage of. Not even close to a fair market value am I being asked to pay. And that price just - it's unsustainable.

HICKS: McGuinness says he wants to pay his nurses better and compete with staffing agencies. But he relies on reimbursements¹⁰ from Medicare and Medicaid, which haven't kept up. So he's at a disadvantage.

MCGUINNESS: We've seen our costs go up, you know, 10, 11% each year during this pandemic in a labor¹¹ standpoint - in some markets, even more. Reimbursement⁹ does not go up 10 and 11% a year.

HICKS: So McGuinness wants lawmakers to step in and do something to control the rising costs. Chris Madden heads a staffing agency, Networks Connect. He acknowledges nursing homes are upset but says it's more about supply and demand.

CHRIS MADDEN: The villain¹² is COVID (laughter). The villain is COVID here. And it's just the silent villain that you can't talk to, you can't reason with. And we are just all - nobody knows what to do.

HICKS: Madden says staffing agencies have to compete against each other for fewer nurses demanding bigger paychecks.

MADDEN: Can you blame them? I mean, can you blame them? They're just saying, if this is what the market's paying, then I want to get paid that, too. They're not holding their care. They're just saying, I want to be compensated for it.

HICKS: John Bowblis researches economics and geriatric care at Miami University in Ohio. He says federal CARES Act money going to nursing homes has helped some weather recent spikes¹³ in labor costs. But that's not sustainable.

JOHN BOWBLIS: If this continues on this way, you will see a large number of nursing homes that may have to declare bankruptcy¹⁴. Or the other option is politically that you have to increase reimbursement. And a lot of states don't want to do that.

HICKS: Instead, what some states are doing is considering putting wage caps on how much staffing agencies can pay workers. So far, Minnesota and Massachusetts are doing exactly that. And economists¹⁵ worry that capping salaries could backfire and drive away even more nurses. For NPR News, I'm Justin Hicks.

(SOUNDBITE OF KASPER LINDMARK'S "GRACE")

1 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

5 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

6 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

7 gouging   

n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. 银行和信用卡公司被指控欺诈顾客。 来自辞典例句
• If back-gouging is applied, grinding to bright metal is required. 如果采用火焰气刨，则应将其打磨至可见光亮的金属表面。 来自互联网

8 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

9 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？

10 reimbursements   

n.偿还( reimbursement的名词复数 )；退款；补偿；赔偿

参考例句：

• We had to put in for the food reimbursements again. 我们不得不再次申请食物赔偿。 来自互联网
• Have you figured up the total of the reimbursements I gave you? 你有没有把我给你的报销账目全部加总了呢？ 来自互联网

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

13 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

15 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》