Burnout and Turnover

A new Skilled Nursing Workforce 2025 report from MissionCare Collective highlights the critical link between high turnover rates in skilled nursing facilities and the quality of care residents receive. High turnover disrupts the quality of care, leads to burnout among staff, and ultimately further compromises some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The report identifies the two major contributors to turnover: inadequate compensation and staff burnout. SNF staff, especially CNAs, often face extremely demanding workloads with long hours doing emotionally taxing work, all while being unappreciated and underpaid. Therefore, burnout becomes inevitable in these conditions, which leads to staff quitting their positions for better-paying or less stressful employment.  This not only affects care quality but also imposes significant financial burdens on facilities, increasing recruitment and training costs from already thin resources.

Consistency in staffing is crucial in SNFs because care requires specialized skills and personalized attention. This means long-term employees are much better equipped to, for example, recognize subtle changes in residents’ conditions and adjust care plans accordingly. Turnover, however, interrupts this process, by forcing facilities to constantly train new staff who lack familiarity with the patients or with the environment. The only way to avoid this cycle is for SNFs to prioritize staff retention through competitive wages and more manageable workloads. Investments in staff are essential to improving resident care and ensuring the sustainability of the facility.

Without consistent, motivated employees, facilities cannot meet the specialized and often personalized needs of their residents. Residents rely on staff who know them and their preferences, tendencies, and needs. Consistent staffing creates trust between caregivers and residents and creates an environment where patients feel seen and valued. New staff require time to adjust, learn the routines, and build relationships with residents. Each staffing change represents a gap in continuity of care, increasing the likelihood of mistreatment or negligence.