It's not just COVID keeping some people out of North Carolina nursing homes

It’s one of the most difficult decisions families face. Finding a nursing home for a loved one.

That struggle is even harder because of a lack of nursing home workers.

Right now, there are 21 unfilled positions on average in North Carolina nursing homes.

The shortage is halting admissions, meaning families who need care may not have anywhere to go.

A 2021 survey shows:

• 89% of employees are leaving their job because of COVID’s impact.
• 72% for higher wages.
• 54% say they are burned out.

"Folks watching this, if you have a loved one in a nursing home, there is adequate staffing to take care of your loved one today," Adam Sholar, The President of NC Health Care Facilities Association said.

Today. But, possibly not tomorrow. The President of the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association says, as a result of shortages, many facilities are restricting or pausing new admissions.

WRAL News spoke with about a dozen nursing homes in the area, almost half either have a waiting list or are almost at capacity.

Data from September shows 61% of nursing homes state-wide are restricting admission and 11% are not accepting new residents.

"I know that number has grown since then. As a state and federal government, we must increase support and funding in these programs, so facilities can pay higher wages, to attract more people over the long term," Sholar said.

Nursing homes are taking action, many are increasing pay, paying overtime or offering bonuses.

Even so, more than 100 nursing homes are still reporting shortages in the state.

Since January of 2020,the start of the pandemic, North Carolina nursing homes have lost over 15,000 employees.

There are currently about 10,000 open positions in the state.