Within continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), medical social workers’ pay increased the most in 2014 among salaried CCRC employees, according to the latest salary and benefits report on the sector.
Medical social workers’ pay showed a 7.19% increase at $50,729, compared to an average salary of $47,326 in 2013, according to the “Continuing Care Retirement Community Salary & Benefits Report,” published by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Services (HCS) in cooperation with nonprofit industry trade group LeadingAge. The study included data on 42 salaried and 44 hourly-wage CCRC positions.
Receiving the second largest salary increase this year were directors of dining and food services, with a pay increase of 6.46% at $71,766.
Executive directors, the top paid employees, saw a slight salary increase this year of .21%, making on average $148,317 this year compared to $148,007 last year. However, executive directors saw a nearly 6% boost in salary in 2013 compared to the previous year.
With high staff turnover often cited as a challenge for many senior housing communities throughout the market, some progress can be seen in CCRCs among executives.
The turnover rate for department heads decreased in 2014 to 13.02%, down from 14.49% reported in 2013.
“We realize attracting high quality staff is important in delivering quality care,” says LeadingAge President and CEO William Minnix, in the report.
The national average salary of director of human resources increased by 2.57% this year, at $75,331 on average across CCRCs of all revenue size.
Therapy and rehab workers’ pay also received a notable boost, making an average of $95,905, up 4.87% from the 2013 average pay of $91,448.
Some positions saw a decrease in pay, including nursing home assistant administrators and chief financial officers. For nursing home assistant administrators, the average salary decreased .40% this year, with an average salary of $78,687. The recent salary decrease follows the decrease of 7% in salary pay for this position from 2012 to 2013. Chief financial officers also saw a .40 % decrease in pay this year, with an average salary of $130,125.
However, chief financial officers saw some of the largest salary gains in 2013, as their salaries rose 2.72%, on average, to $164,275.
On the clinical side, staff nursers received a nearly 1.6% increase in hourly pay rates at $28.10 per hour. The increase follows last year’s average wage decrease of .43% from 2013.
New to this year’s study was the position of director of home and community-based services.
The 17th annual study includes information from 501 CCRCs that provided compensation data on more than 79,700 employees, covering 42 management and 45 non-managment positions. HCS also conducts similar reports for nursing homes and assisted living.
“With current labor shortages and increased health provider competition, we hope the CCRC Salary & Benefits Report is [assists with] staff recruitment and retention efforts,” Minnix says.
Written by Cassandra Dowell
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