The research included 3 million Glassdoor reviews of 500 large employers in 25 industries to uncover which sectors have the most frustrated workers as far as wages are concerned.

Only workers in the education field are less satisfied with their pay than are workers in healthcare, according to the findings.

“This is likely one reason why education and health services have a higher-than average vacancy rate of roughly 6%, compared to about 5% across all industries, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics,” wrote Carissa Rawson, Glen Luke Flannigan and Robin Saks Frankel.

At the other end, workers in the field of pharmaceuticals/biotechnology were least likely to have complaints about the amount in their paycheck, followed by workers in food/soft beverages/alcohol/tobacco and utilities.

Help may be in sight for some healthcare workers, but optimism may be waning in California, where, in the wake of a projected $38 billion deficit, Gov. Gavin Newson (D) is reevaluating an incremental minimum wage increase to $25 an hour for workers in nursing homes, assisted living communities and other settings. He had signed it into law in October.

California has the largest number of skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities of any state, according to SNF Data and Statista.

Overall, nursing home salaries — including those of executives — continued their upward trajectory with many facilities responding to staffing shortfalls by increasing hourly rates and offering signing bonuses, according to the industry’s largest annual salary survey released in August.

According to the results of another study, from TollFreeForwarding.com, registered nurse salaries are projected to increase over the next decade at a rate that surpasses the rate of increases for some other healthcare professions.

Meanwhile, resident assistants in assisted living communities received a 9.22% hourly rate increase in 2022, according to the 25th annual Assisted Living Salary & Benefits Report, published by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service. Resident assistant hourly rates increased by 10.61% in 2021 and by 9.22% in 2022. As a result of continued pay increases, turnover rates for the position began to decrease in 2022. Resident assistant turnover was 68.09% in 2021 but declined in 2022 to 49.08%. Vacancy rates for resident assistants were 19.91% in 2022.

A data leak over the summer may have given hackers access to health records and personal information for both residents and staff at 40 nursing homes, according to the healthcare services provider whose servers were compromised. 

The company, HMG Healthcare, said earlier this month that it first identified the leak in November and traced the data breach incident back to August. 

Although the exact information stolen is unidentifiable, HMG has taken steps to try and mitigate harm and make sure data was not spread further, as well as increasing their “data security protocols,” the company said in a letter sent to affected employees and residents. 

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern this incident causes you,” HMG CEO Derek Prince said in a statement. “HMG will continue to do everything we can to correct this situation and improve our protections for you and others going forward.”

These kinds of costly leaks are why new cybersecurity is one of the highest tech priorities for healthcare organizations, McKnight’s reported last month.

Senior care and living operations remain one of the most vulnerable industries to these attacks, due to a number of factors from weak passwords and staff errors, to outright theft, security experts have warned.

One recent settlement involving a data breach ended up costing one senior living operator, Acts Retirement-Life Communities $1 million.

The HMG leak possibly occurred due to a ransomware attack, and the company may have been forced to negotiate with the hackers to prevent further damage, one cybersecurity company exec speculated. 

“Because they were compromised and couldn’t completely guarantee nothing was visually seen and copied via screen shot or other means, they had to publicly disclose the breach,” said Bobby Cornwall, vice president for strategic partner enablement and integration at SonicWall. “They would need to be careful with their statement and disclosure so as not to be put in a situation that could result in larger fines due to HIPAA violations.”

Long-term care-related defaults had been decreasing as of May. 

Hilltop surveyed 125 market participants. Half of the respondents to the Hilltop Securities High Yield Impact Survey were investors; bankers and advisers accounted for 16%; sell side intermediaries accounted for 9%; and bond counsel, insurers and rating analysts contributed 16% of the responses. Other market participants (including bond evaluators and researchers) contributed the remaining 9%.

The top three sectors in which participants said they expect to see defaults are in senior living, skilled nursing and project finance. Those top three were the same as in 2022, Hilltop noted, although higher education was No. 4 in 2023 compared with hospitals in 2022; “​​some of the extreme labor and revenue pressures in the hospital sector have begun to moderate,” the company said.

“Generally, responders assigned little to no concern to the behavioral health, hotels, workforce housing sectors, or the impact that work from home will have on credits,” according to Hilltop. 

The company noted that pre-pandemic occupancy levels haven’t returned to most senior living communities, which face continued revenue challenges that could affect muni bonds. According to NIC MAP Vision and the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, however, sustained supply-demand trends could drive those occupancy rates to return to pre-pandemic levels this year.

But experts are somewhat pessimistic in general about some muni bond yields this year, Bloomberg reported.

“Junk muni bonds posted a 9.2% advance for the full year, the most since 2019. Returns were buoyed by a lack of high-yield supply and a widespread market rally starting in November,” according to the media outlet. 

“The market could look different this year if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates and muni issuers rush to borrow. A slowing US economy also doesn’t bode well for a sector that’s largely made up of nursing homes, tobacco bonds and charter schools,” John Flahive, head of fixed income at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, told Bloomberg.

According to the Hilltop survey, the green bond designation has little effect on investors. Hilltop has asked a question about the bond type in its three most recent annual surveys. Less than 1% of respondents said that the green bond designation was a priority for them. Investors conveyed that although the designation is a nice thing to have, they aren’t willing to pay extra for it.

“Green bond designation does not help my recovery when a deal defaults. Equity does,” one respondent said.

The status was announced Jan. 2.

“The dedicated leadership of our two entities ensures not only the expansion of services for aging adults but also a commitment to excellence in healthcare and housing for everyone we serve,” Knute Nelson CEO Mark Anderson said in an online post. “We are also strategically positioning ourselves to grow our technological capabilities and broaden our mission of enhancing lives to reach more people across our geographical regions.”

Anderson became the new president and CEO of the newly joined entity effective Jan. 1. He had led Knute Nelson for almost 20 years. Scott Riddle, former Walker Methodist CEO, retired Dec. 31.

The merger will expand the services each company provides across an integrated continuum of care, including home- and community-based services, housing options and rehabilitation/skilled nursing.

The combined entity now provides services in more than 58 counties in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, with a portfolio of 34 communities that offer assisted living, memory care, home healthcare, wellness, a therapy continuum and hospice care. 

Before the merger, Knute Nelson operated in 43 counties in Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, whereas Walker Methodist owned and managed 19 senior living communities in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.