VA announces leadership shakeup
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday that it would make several leadership changes that will take effect soon.
Pamela Powers, who previously served in the Department of Defense as undersecretary for personnel and readiness, will join newly instated Secretary Robert Wilkie as VA Chief of Staff. Peter O’Rourke, the previous chief of staff who had been serving as acting secretary, will become a senior adviser at the agency.
Jacquelyn Hayes-Byrd will transition from a role as acting chief of staff to acting assistant secretary for human resources and administration at the VA. And finally, Chris Syrek, who served previously as executive director of state and local relations, will become deputy chief of staff.
“Our veterans deserve the best, and that’s what we are doing by bringing together a talented leadership team to serve them at VA,” Wilkie said. (Announcement)
Most Americans unprepared to pay for long-term care
Patients significantly underestimate the costs of long-term care and many are not saving to cover these costs in the future, according to a new survey.
Close to 70% of Americans will need long-term care at some point in their lives, though just 46% are anticipating those needs, a survey from Moll Law Group found. The group polled 2,000 people about the costs assocated with long-term care.
Long-term care costs about $47,000 per year out-of-pocket, though survey respondents estimated about $25,000. In addition, 64% said they were not currently saving to cover the cost of long-term care, and 67% said they could not financially contribute to those costs for their parents. (Survey)
Many healthcare organizations offer sign-on bonuses to advanced-practice clinicians
As advanced-practice providers are in high demand, about 90% of healthcare organizations are offering sign-on bonuses to attract them, according to a new survey.
Consulting form SullivanCotter analyzed human resources documents at more than 480 organizations and found that the average bonus is about $6,400. In addition, many providers (72%) are offered a moving allowance to advanced practice clinicians, and 45% offer retention bonuses.
Dollar amounts for such bonuses are up too, according to the report. The average sign-on bonus increased by 8.7% since 2016, while moving allowances were up 6.6% in that same window. Retention bonuses also increased by 12.3%. (Survey)