Elder care industry confronts both a labor shortage and a financial crisis [View all]

In Rookie Olson’s nine years in the business, he’s never seen anything like it.

Vernon Hall, the assisted living facility in Vernon where he’s the administrator and manager, can’t seem to hire or retain anyone.

After advertising for a nurse for more than a year, he finally managed to hire someone this week, but he’s still desperately searching for two resident assistants to help the 16 he has on staff.

Hiring is only the start of the battle. What few staff members Olson managed to bring on in the last couple of months have left within a matter of weeks.

“I hire, they leave, I hire, they leave. I hire, they leave,” he said. “It’s like a revolving door.”

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2021/07/18/elder-care-labor-shortage/