Due to a lack of skilled nurses, companies are finding new ways to fill staffing gaps in senior living communities. One company at the forefront of pioneering solutions in senior living operations is Tutera Senior Living & Health Care. Their creative strategies gained national recognition in a recent case study, highlighting their commitment to finding inventive solutions for industry challenges.
Tutera’s case study won the Gold Award for Innovator of the Year at the McKnight’s Technology Awards on September 20. The study, titled “Tutera Nearly Eliminates Unfilled Shifts, Drives Census Growth,” focused on how Tutera reduced unfilled shifts and increased growth in skilled nursing.
This technology competition is a collaboration between McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. The program recognizes how technology has transformed senior living. It praises providers who use innovative technology to improve care quality and operational efficiency in their organizations.
Tutera’s outstanding achievement underscores its commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance resident care and strengthen the overall health care experience.
Partnership With SAMI
In the report, Tutera leaders mentioned they were looking for ways to schedule and fill open nursing shifts at their 71 communities. That’s when they introduced SAMI (Schedule Automation Marketplace Integration), a scheduling software that proved incredibly helpful in solving these problems.
SAMI is a software partnership with ShiftKey + OnShift, and Tutera’s goals included:
- Reduction in unfilled skilled nursing shifts
- Increased employee engagement
- Improved occupancy rates
- Promotion of continuous care and Tutera’s YOUNITE philosophy
- Consolidation of the scheduling process for internal team members and independent skilled nursing professionals
Impressive Results After Pilot Program
The collaboration between Tutera and SAMI to address staffing needs yielded remarkable outcomes within the four pilot communities. The case study showed that Tutera reduced unstaffed nursing shifts by 90% and improved employee engagement by 20% through better scheduling practices.
SAMI automated scheduling for Tutera, giving leadership real-time schedules and highlighting gaps and staffing shortages. By prioritizing and automatically approving shift requests, Tutera was able to streamline the scheduling process and access a marketplace of skilled nursing care professionals for open shifts.
This resulted in the ability to fill shifts with best-fit skilled nursing employees who are available to work. The scheduling system increased resident occupancy rates by 7%, demonstrating the importance of having dedicated staff for senior care. Based on the positive results from the pilot communities, Tutera plans to expand SAMI to more communities in the coming months.