Turnover of Housekeeping, Dietary, Laundry, and Maintenance Staff in Nursing Homes

ObjectiveTurnover among non-nursing staff such as housekeeping, dietary, laundry, and maintenance workers is a growing concern in nursing homes. To our knowledge, only Iowa collects systematic data on turnover for these roles. Because these workers are essential to daily services for older adults, understanding their turnover trends is critical.MethodsWe used turnover data from all Iowa nursing homes from 2009 to 2022 to summarize annual turnover rates and examine trends over time, stratified by profit status, rurality, and overall quality.ResultsThe sample included 421 nursing homes with 5,130 facility-year observations. Turnover increased over time for all staff types; in 2022, turnover rates were 88.1% for housekeeping, 87.8% for dietary, 53.9% for laundry, and 43.6% for maintenance. Turnover was higher in for-profit, urban, and lower-quality facilities.ConclusionsNon-nursing staff turnover in nursing homes is extremely high. Broader data collection is needed to evaluate its impact on quality.