Most US nursing homes provide at least some educational, retirement assistance for staff

Educational assistance and 401(k)/403(b) plans are among the fringe benefits highlighted nationwide in the 5th annual Nursing Home Salary & Benefits Report released by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service.

“There are no surprises in the ups and downs of the regional fringe benefits data,”

HCS Director of Reports Rosanne Zabka told the McKnight’s Business Daily. 

Nationally, 100% of the respondents provide some educational assistance for both clinical staff members and managers. On average, employers paid 85.6% of clinical employees’ college education expenses, compared with 61.7% for management.

The amount of assistance provided varied dramatically by region. 

Of the nine regions covered in the report, the Mountain region — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — leads the nation with 100% reimbursement for clinical employees among respondents. Meanwhile, 59.5% of responding providers in the South Atlantic region — Delaware, Washington, DC, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia — said they give educational assistance for college coursework for clinical staff members.

Participating providers in the East North Central region — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin — lead the nation by providing educational assistance to management at a rate of 95.9%. At the other end, 18.5% of facilities in the New England states — Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont — provided assistance.

Almost every nursing home surveyed across the United States offers 401(k)/403(b)/defined contribution plans. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents said they match employees’ contributions to their retirement savings. Employers matched up to 3.7%, on average, nationally.
The annual reference book is created annually in cooperation with the American Health Care Association and endorsed by LeadingAge. The full report includes data from 1,283 nursing homes covering more than 119,000 employees. It is available for purchase on the HCS website; AHCA and LeadingAge members receive a discount.