What’s the outlook on nursing in home care?
What’s the outlook on nursing in home care?
Here are the stats on the past, present, and future
In the face of statistics showing an increasing number of home health agencies are closing their doors, there are also reports calling the home health industry an area of growth. Whether that proves true will depend greatly on how Congress — and home health agencies — deal with reimbursement issues.
Whereas agencies may struggle to keep operating, the need for home care is certainly strong as we are faced with an aging baby boomer population and a country whose citizens can expect to live well into their 70s and 80s. As reported in an article in the Dec. 14, 1998, issue of Capital District Business Review in Albany, NY, more than 8 million Americans receive some type of home health care services. Increasingly, nursing programs are offering home care training to its student nurses and re-training programs for nurses seeking to enter a new field of health care.
In its 1998-99 Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics points to several statistics regarding registered nursing:
• It’s the nation’s largest health care occupation, employing more than 1.9 million, two-thirds of which are employed by hospitals.
• It’s among the top five occupations projected to experience the greatest increase in the number of new jobs. According to the study, job opportunities in home health care are expected to increase at a rate faster than other heath care industry segments. This growth is in response to "a growing number of persons with functional disabilities, consumer preference for care in the home, and technological advances which make it possible to bring increasingly complex treatments into the home."
• RNs can expect above-average incomes, especially those with higher training or education.
• Median weekly earnings for full-time, salaried RNs in 1996 were $697. The top 10% earned more than $1,039; the middle 50% had weekly incomes between $571 and $868, with the lowest 10% earning less than $415 a week.
As for licensed practical nurses (LPNs), the Occupational Outlook Handbook states:
• In 1996, LPNs held about 700,000 jobs, with 32% employed in hospitals, 27% working in nursing homes, 13% employed in doctors’ offices and clinics, and the remainder working in home health and temporary help or government agencies.
• Job growth is predicted to increase at a faster than average rate throughout health care in general, and at a "much faster than average" rate for home care in particular.
• Full-time, salaried LPNs could expect weekly salaries of $468 in 1996. The top 10% earned more than $653, the middle 50% earned between $388 and $563, and the lowest 10% less than $318.
• Staff LPNs in chain nursing homes earned an average of $12 an hour in 1996, with 50% earning between $10.60 and $13.50 an hour.
Suggested reading
1. Worldwide Nurse. Nurse-zine 1999; 3:4. (www.wwnurse.com)
2. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1998-99 Occupational Outlook Handbook (www.bls.gov/oco), Bulletin 2500. Washington, DC; 1999.
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