3 steps to become a nursing home manager (2023)

Nursing Home Administrators (NHAs) oversee the day-to-day operations of long-term care facilities, also known as nursing homes. Execution of clinical and administrative tasks in assisted living centers and hospital care centers.

In this guide, we explain what a nursing home manager does, how to become one, how much you earn, and much more!

Nursing home administrators lead the day-to-day operations of long-term care facilities, adult day care, and senior communities. You will be responsible for administrative and clinical tasks.

Much of their day-to-day operations are focused on state and federal guidelines to ensure that all regulations are followed. This allows the facility to receive much-needed state and federal funds, as well as all private and federal insurance funds.

RN for Elderly Home Administrator

Many NHAs are nurses or physicians, as this facilitates the clinical aspect of administering an LTC. Nursing home administrators are not required to have a registered nursing license, but many are. However, they must have aBachelor of Health Administrationbe accredited and certified by the NHA.

Unlike hospitals, nursing home administrators are responsible for all clinical and administrative aspects of a nursing facility.

Often they do not have another management to whom they can delegate the various tasks. Some larger facilities may have service managers or finance directors. But this is not always the case.

Responsibilities of the Nursing Home Administrator

Nursing home administrators perform a variety of specific tasks, including

1. procurement of medical equipment
2. Announcement for new residents.
3. Management of staff allocations.
4. Create standards of patient care that comply with state and federal standards and laws of care
5. Oversight of expenses, finance and accounting.
6. Be the “face” of the institution
7. Report to the Board of Directors on the operation of the facility.
8. As the main advocate for residents.
9. Coordinate your patients' schedules and activities.

How many hours do nursing home administrators work?

Because nursing homes operate 24 hours a day, nursing home administrators work non-traditional hours that vary with meetings and work flow.

NHAs can expect to be on call nights, weekends and holidays, and most work continuously more than 40 hours a week.

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RespectivelyGehalt.com, nursing home administrators earn an average annual salary of123.411 $.The annual salary range is usually between$ 109.746 e $ 137.336.

payscale.comreports an average annual salary of$93,581 or $39.74 per hour.

Nursing home manager salary by experience

According to the salary scale, nursing home administrators can earn a higher annual salary with more years of experience.

1. Less than a yearexperience earn an average annual salary of74.535 $
2. 1-4 yearsexperience earn an average annual salary of86.484 $
3. 5-9 yearsExperience earns an average annual salary of99.676 $
4. 10-19 yearsExperience earns an average annual salary of103.387 $
5. 20 yearsand more years of experience earns an average annual salary of112.107 $

The Cities That Pay the Best for Nursing Home Managers

Currently, according to Payscale.com, nursing home managers earn the highest salaries in the following cities.

1. Atkinson, Nebraska-140.264 $
2. San Francisco, California -139.687 $
3. Bolinas, California -138.487 $
4. San Jose, California -131.228 $
5. frankston, texas-131.095 $

The path to becoming a nursing home administrator usually begins with a degree in nursing, health administration, or a similar degree.

Step 1 – Attend Nursing School (Optional)

Some nursing home administrators begin their careers as registered nurses. In this case, you must have an associate degree in nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited nursing program, pass the NCLEX-RN and gain experience.

The type of bedside experience is not as important for an administrator-in-training (AIT) as it is for other nursing disciplines. Ideally, those interested would benefit from a specialization in gerontology or a long-term care facility. This allows nurses to become well acquainted with the patient population.

Step 2 - Earn a Bachelor's Degree in Health Care Administration

An RN license is not required, but a health administration degree is for nursing home administrators. RNs must take this step and earn aBachelor of Health Managementafter completing your nursing degree. Non-nurses can skip this step.

Step 3: Earn a Masters in Health Care Administration

a Master'sMaster of Health Administration (MHA), is often required for this position as individuals learn administrative tasks such as budget planning and proposals, federal regulations, and human resources skills such as interviewing potential employees and managing secure relationships with staff.

Step 4: Get the License

Each state has specific licensing requirements to become a licensed nursing home administrator. This is a requirement for individuals in this position and is non-negotiable for accredited entities as federal and state funds are tied to these requirements.

The national license is supervised by theBoard of Trustees of the National Long-Term Care Association(TO BREAK). There are also several different licenses that students can complete:

• Residential Care and Assisted Living (RCAL)
• Home Nursing Care (NHA)
• Home and community services (HCBS)

It is important to note that not all states recognize all of these certifications. Therefore, it is important that applicants carefully review the NAB state licensing website.

Requirements to take the licensing exams vary greatly by state, but all require at least a bachelor's degree in healthcare. Other general requirements to obtain the license are:

• Minimum age 18 to 21 years old.
• Pass a background check
• Between 200 and 2040 hours of training (depending on government requirements)

Nursing home administrators typically work in long-term care facilities. But they can work in other environments that are not normally considered. These include:

1. Adult day centers
2. memory care facilities
3. Competent service centers
4. nursing homes
5. Pflegeheime (VA) Department of Veterans Affairs.
6. elderly care communities

Regardless of the setting, nursing home administrators enjoy similar benefits. While actual benefits may vary by institution, most include the following:

1. Medical, dental and life insurance
2. Certification Reimbursement
3. retirement options
4. Vacation pay and paid time off
5. Family leave, maternity and bereavement
6. relocation assistance
7. childcare
8. continuing education allowance

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimates that 1.3 million residents reside in approximately 15,600 nursing homes across the country. Each of these facilities has a nursing home manager, making this job highly sought after. However, these statistics do not take into account adult day care centers or seniors' communities.

According toUnited States Census Bureau, about 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day since 2010. By 2030, all 73 million baby boomers will be over 65. These people live longer, although some get sicker and need additional medical care.

Nursing homes, adult day care, and seniors' communities are needed by a large proportion of these people, and managers of seniors' homes are sorely needed to run them.

According toUS Bureau of Labor StatisticsAccording to the BLS, the employment outlook for managers in medicine and health is 28% between 2021 and 2031. While the BLS does not differentiate between nursing home administrators and other medical administrators, this number represents the current need in this field.

Compared to the average growth rate of 4% for all occupations, the career prospects for nursing home administrators look very good!

Nursing home administrators are expected to have an active nursing home administrator license and some states require hours of continuing education.

The National Continuing Education Review Service (NCERS), the NAB's continuing education review service, reviews and approves thousands of continuing education programs offered by hundreds of providers across the country. information can be foundHere.

The site contains up-to-date continuing education offerings relevant to nursing home management, including:

1. elder abuse
2. ADL administration
3. Alzheimer's disease
4. potencial cerebral
5. financial responsibility

If a nursing home manager also has an active Registered Nurse (RN) license, he or she must complete Continuing Education Units (CEUs) per state guidelines. In general, to renew their RN license, a person must fill out an application, complete a certain number of CEU hours and pay a small fee.

Each state has specific requirements and it is important to check with the department of nursing before applying for license renewal. CEUs associated with a nursing home administrator license can also be used for an RN license if requirements and eligibility are met.

If the RN license forms part of a compact care license, the CEU requirement applies for permanent residency status. Some states require CEUs related to child abuse, narcotics, and/or pain management.

A detailed description of the hours of Continuing Education in Nursing can be found hereHere.

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1. American Association of Assisted Nurses
2. Board of Trustees of the National Long-Term Care Association
3. American College of Health Executives
4. American College of Health Administrators
5. Administration of the American Association of Health Care Administrators
6. American Society of Geriatrics
7. American Nurses Association
8. american aging society
9. Alliance for Elderly Care Workers
10. Hartford Institute for the Care of the Elderly
11. National Association of Gerontological Nursing
12. The Gerontological Society of America

• What does it take to become a nursing home administrator?

  • To become a nursing home administrator, individuals must first earn a bachelor's degree in nursing, health administration or a related field. A master's degree is expected to learn the administrative duties expected of an NHA. States require all nursing home administrators to pass a national licensing exam and maintain certification throughout their employment.

• What is the job of a nursing home manager?

  • The nursing home administrator is responsible for the day-to-day operations of a long-term care facility, retirement community, adult day care, and/or assisted living facility. This can include meeting with employees, planning budgets, managing state and federal funds, and securing necessary medical equipment and supplies.

• Is it a good job as a nursing home administrator?

  • Managing a nursing home is a demanding but highly lucrative and in-demand job. People can expect to have a lot of responsibility and work long hours, but they will be well rewarded. It can be stressful due to expectations and long hours.

• What is it like to be a manager of a nursing home?

  • Nursing home administrators spend a good part of their day in meetings related to staffing, budgeting, enrollment and hiring, policies and procedures, and regulations. Time is also spent engaging with clinical and non-clinical staff, working with external health systems to ensure adequate care for residents when needed, communicating with family members, and reporting to a board of directors or senior management.

Check out these other articles and guides to learn more about starting your business.Careers in Health Administration:

• How to get into health administration
• guide to undergraduate courses in health administration
• Master of Health Administration (MHA) Studiengangsleitfaden
• Top 10 Online Health Management Software
• Top 10 highest paying healthcare administration jobs of 2021