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LONG-TERM CARE WORKERS FIND STRESS RELIEF IN MUSIC; LANDMARK STUDY COULD SAVE INDUSTRY $1.46 BILLION
MEADVILLE, PA—The employee dissatisfaction, burnout and rampant turnover that threaten the long-term care industry may have
a solution in one of man’s oldest activities, according to a new scientific study. Researchers have found that a specific
Recreational Music-making (RMM) program drastically reduced employee burnout and mood disturbances with huge projected economic
benefits for the long-term care industry.
A groundbreaking study published in the Fall/Winter 2003 issue of Advances in Mind-Body Medicine demonstrates
that a six-week program of Recreational Music-making at Wesbury United Methodist Retirement Community, a 400-bed facility in
Meadville, PA, not only reduced burnout in long-term care workers, but also reduced Total Mood Disturbance by 46 percent.
Using industry-wide human resources data and analysis by an independent research firm, researchers projected that
this improvement could result in an 18.3 percent reduction in employee turnover, which would save the average 100-bed facility more
than $89,000 a year-and the entire long-term care industry as much as $1.46 billion annually. Actual improvements at Wesbury
exceeded the study's projections.
And while similar employee enrichment programs often claim success if they return as much as $5 per dollar
invested, this Recreational Music-making protocol is projected to save institutions as much as $60 per dollar invested.
"This is the first study to address the practical human-resource applications of Recreational Music-making
in a specific and quantifiable manner-a first in music, and a first in business," said neurologist Barry Bittman, MD, medical
director of the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, PA and lead author of the study. "Employee turnover is threatening the
ultimate viability of the long-term care industry."
According to data from more than 40 states, employee turnover in the long-term care industry ranges between
40 percent and 100 percent annually. The study used 60 percent as a benchmark for its projections, with employee turnover
amounting to about $8,100 per person according to industry data.
Emotional burnout is considered a major factor in this turnover rate. Industry surveys show that emotional
factors, rather than economic ones, account for 81.7 percent of employees' decisions to stay or leave. Even among long-term
care workers who stay in their jobs, emotional burnout can detract from the quality of the care they provide and even heighten
the risk of elder abuse.
The turnover problem has particularly serious implications for long-term care. Enrollment in nursing and
related training programs is down, while the number of older Americans who will need care is on the rise. Unlike other businesses
that have the option to combat employee turnover by increasing salaries, long-term care facilities operate under Medicare and
Medicaid reimbursement caps that ultimately constrain their wage scales.
"This finding has the potential for significant dollar savings in an environment where everyone is scraping
for every nickel they can get," says Wesbury President and CEO Donald Clawson. "In the aftermath of this study protocol, we
are not actively recruiting for replacements in nursing personnel, whereas for the last two years we had been in a constant
scramble. We're stabilized."
In addition to the bottom-line results that Wesbury saw after only 25 percent of its workforce experienced
the Recreational Music-making program, Clawson commented, "The pressures of our present long-term care environment can be very
frustrating for the staff. This program brought everyone together in a remarkable way to share their experiences and to
support each other. There's no doubt I see more friendly faces today than I did a year ago, and our staff is now pulling
together more as a team. We are continuing this program for our employees at Wesbury even though Bittman's study has been
completed."
Recreational Music-making is distinct from "regular" music-making as its purpose is the enjoyment and
well-being of the participant and the group, not an artistic or aesthetic outcome. Of particular importance is the fact that
participation does not require talent or training. RMM can bridge linguistic and cultural divides in ways that verbal activities
alone cannot. Indeed, the Merriam Webster dictionary notes that the word "recreation" is derived from the Latin root "recreatio,"
meaning "restoration to health."
The study's protocol was based upon Group Empowerment Drumming, coupled with exercises on a digital piano,
for 112 Wesbury employees. In addition to breathing, imagery and movement components, participants used simple percussion
instruments to establish a sense of camaraderie while expressing their feelings non-verbally at first. Many discovered a
refreshing sense of group nurturing and support, coupled with heightened interpersonal awareness and respect, which prompted
ongoing meaningful dialogues.
The resulting improvement in affect was measured and quantified using Total Mood Disturbance, a derived
composite index of several mood states that was measured with written questionnaires before and after participation in the
experimental and control groups.
An independent consulting group, Tripp Umbach Healthcare Consulting of Pittsburgh, PA, used survey data
from the national long-term care industry to translate the study participants' 46 percent improvement in Total Mood
Disturbance into a projection that the RMM protocol could reduce turnover by 18.3 percent, thereby saving 11 positions each
year in a typical 100-bed facility. Industry-wide data on human resources costs indicated that this reduction in turnover
would save such a facility $89,100 per year, and would save the entire long-term care industry $1.46 billion. Notably, the
actual improvement in employee turnover at Wesbury exceeded the projections of the published study.
Bittman commented that the application of specifically-tailored RMM protocols could potentially result
in substantial cost savings for many industries worldwide. He and his research team are preparing to extend this research
to build upon the results of this study in a host of other arenas.
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