Hourly pay rates for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) at home health agencies increased nearly 10% from 2021 to 2022, while turnover rates fell slightly from last year.
That’s according to the latest Home Care Salary & Benefits report from Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service.
The Oakland, New Jersey-based company provides salary and benefits studies — along with custom marketplace studies — for the health care industry. The report is published in cooperation with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC).
The latest report is based on responses from more than 860 home health agencies across the U.S.
The national average hourly rate for LPNs at home health agencies increased by 9.57% in 2022, up to $27.74.
California holds the highest average hourly rate for LPNs at $34.27 per hour, while Missouri holds the lowest rates at $23.58 per hour.
Accounting for nearly 60 job titles, LPNs in home health care saw the single highest year-to-year jump. Home care aides saw an 8.96% increase and administrative assistants saw an 8.57% increase.
At the same time, executive directors and CEOs saw an average wage increase of 3.34%, up from $237,194 to $245,128 per year.
Physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists saw 2022 hourly wages of $49.38, $44.69 and $45.00, respectively.
Wages have steadily increased in home health care since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As droves of nurses and home care aides left the industry, agencies have had to increase wages and incentivize workers to stay, join and even come back to the workforce.
In recent years, home health giants like LHC Group (Nasdaq: LHCG) have called salary and wage pressures the biggest headwinds during quarterly earnings calls.
Home health salaries and wages – including sign-on bonuses – increased over 5% year over year for LHC Group from May 2021 to May 2022.
In February, Addus HomeCare Corporation (Nasdaq: ADUS) reported that in many of the markets it serves, labor pressures in home health and hospice led to a 4% to 5% increase in wages.
Over half of the agencies said they offered sign-on bonuses to attract new employees. Of the agencies that did not offer those bonuses, about 13% of agencies said they will implement some kind of bonus program in the next year.
The average sign-on bonus offered to registered nurses (RNs), LPNs and home care aides was $6,569 (5.6% increase), $4,464 (9.6% increase) and $2,089 (9% increase), respectively.
The higher wages and bonuses for LPNs and other home care workers seem to be paying dividends when it comes to turnover.
Although the report noted that a turnover rate over 30% is not ideal, that rate is falling.
The 2022 turnover rate for LPNs was 30.25%, down from 36.54% a year ago, and 31.19% for RNs, down from 32.35% a year ago.
The turnover rate for home care aides was the highest of the bunch at 35.42%, down from 38.05% a year ago.
Therapists (20.2%) and top-level executives (20.9%) saw the lowest turnover rates.
Companies featured in this article:
Addus HomeCare Corporation, Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service, LHC Group
