A shortage of staffing at the Powell Valley Care Center has led to limitations on the number of residents it can admit into the long-term care facility. 

In the absence of full-time applicants to its open positions — many of them for certified nurses assistants — the center has relied heavily on travel nurses, which are nurses contracted to fill positions in high-need areas. They currently have about 10 traveling nurses working at the center. 

“To take more residents, then we’d have to either have more of our own staff or travelers. We absolutely cannot sustain the traveler amount we have right now,” said Michelle Petrich, care center administrator, at the regular monthly meeting of the Powell Valley Healthcare (PVHC) Board of Directors. 

The hospital has spent nearly $1.7 million on contract labor costs this fiscal year, which is $1.4 million over its budget. 

The care center is currently capped at 65 residents. As of May 23, it was not accepting new residents to its secured dementia unit. 

Dr. Aaron Billin, PVHC emergency care physician, said “three or four times a week” PVHC has people bringing elderly family members under their care to the emergency department hoping to get them transferred to the care center. These incidents happen almost always in the evening, Billin said, when the caretakers are exhausted from the demands of caring for their elderly family members. 

“There’s a lot of ER visits that are due to caregiver fatigue. They expect the ER to be a portal into the nursing home, which it is not,” Billin said. 

Billin praised the emergency department staff for helping navigate these situations, but he said it’s not easy for anyone. 

“It’s frustrating for the family. It’s frustrating for the ER staff, because we’re there face to face with the family,” the physician explained. 

Petrich said they are prioritizing new residents who don’t have a safe place to live right now. So, for example, they have families requesting admission to transfer their loved ones to the care center from another facility in order to have them living closer to home. Petrich said she understands why families want their elderly members living close, but with limited space, they have to give priority to those elderly who need long-term care at the care center the most. 

“If they’re in a safe facility and there’s not another reason [to transfer them to the care center], we need to stick with those who need the most acute care … It’s a triage system,” Petrich said. 

Terry Odom, PVHC CEO, said the care center does take admissions on a weekly basis, as there are regular discharges, for a variety of reasons. 

“We had an admission today,” Odom said. 

The board discussed the option of bringing in more traveling nurses, but with contract labor costs blowing through the PVHC budget, it’s not a feasible option. 

“We don’t really want to increase it [contract labor costs] so we can increase residents,” Odom said. 

Odom explained that the labor market is very competitive right now. Many of the positions are for CNAs, and at that skill level, there are other industries paying more.

Petrich added that the positions at the care center are demanding, and many shifts require nights and weekends. 

“Whether you’re a CNA or a nurse, it’s a tough job,” Petrich said. 

Petrich said they haven’t had any applications for registered nurse positions. Traveling nurses make more and can choose to work just about anywhere, which makes it an appealing option for RNs.