Keywords

culture change, empowerment, LTC workforce, retention, staff development

 

Authors

  1. HOLLINGER-SMITH, LINDA RN, PHD
  2. ORTIGARA, ANNA RN, MS

Abstract

Demand for a qualified long-term care (LTC) nursing workforce and focus on federally mandated quality indicators and staffing ratios create an imperative for organizations to invest in developing and retaining quality nursing managers and nursing staff. LEAP is a comprehensive LTC nursing workforce initiative that aims to educate, empower, and retain nursing managers and staff. Evaluation of LEAP in 14 LTC organizations is demonstrating significant increases in work empowerment, leadership effectiveness, perceived organizational climate, job satisfaction, and work effectiveness up to 1-year postprogram implementation. Implications for organizations to focus on a culture of learning to foster person-centered care are described.