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County reports decline in use of agency nurses, but long-term care reports COVID and flu cases
Summary
County staff reported a steady reduction in agency nursing contracts and described a new weekly staffing meeting; long-term care said the nursing-home census is 27 and assisted living 47 and reported one flu case and 10 resident COVID cases plus one staff case.
Rockingham County staff told commissioners on March 6 that the county’s use of agency nursing contracts has fallen in recent months after earlier pandemic-driven increases, and they described new coordination meetings intended to manage staffing more proactively.
A county staff member leading the nursing-recruitment update said the county has reduced the number of active agency contracts and has focused primary usage on a smaller set of consistent vendors (identified in discussion as L&As) that supply nurses familiar with county operations. Staff said the county had as many as 16 agencies on a list at one point and has dropped roughly 12–13 contracts since September; they described cost savings in the range of about $1 million to $1.5 million compared with the prior year, though staff did not provide a line-by-line accounting in the meeting.
To reduce reliance on outside staffing, staff described a weekly “labor meeting” model that began with a pilot in late February and will continue with nursing leadership and HR present. The meetings will review active contracts, incoming agency personnel, scheduling and attendance, clinical risk, and renewals so the county can identify gaps and reduce turnover.
Long-term-care staff reported facility census figures and an outbreak status. The nursing-home census stood at 27 residents and the assisted-living census at 47 residents. Staff reported one resident with influenza and 10 residents plus one staff member who tested positive for COVID-19; public-health precautions and outbreak protocols were in effect. Long-term-care leadership said they are monitoring regulatory changes and preparing to implement process adjustments tied to state regulatory updates that take effect later in March.
Staff also said interviews were underway for a medical‑records position and thanked colleagues who helped keep a dietary RFP on schedule. Commissioners and staff discussed potential expansion of in‑house staffing and noted the county’s benefits package and stable employment offering as tools for recruiting away from short-term agency work.
Why it matters: Long-term-care staffing levels and outbreaks affect resident care and facility operations; the reduction of agency contracts and new staffing meetings may reduce costs and stabilize care, while the reported outbreak requires infection-control measures and monitoring.
