2009 Salary Survey Results: Salaries on the rise — but so are the hours
2009 Salary Survey Results
Salaries on the rise — but so are the hours
Economy, perks are slashing turnovers
Salaries for case managers are increasing, but the vast majority of case managers are working far more than the typical 40-hour week, according to the 2009 Hospital Case Management Salary Survey.
The 2009 Salary Survey was mailed to readers of Hospital Case Management in the June issue. About two-thirds of the respondents (67%) were case management directors. The rest were case managers, utilization managers, social workers, or had other titles.
The majority of respondents (73%) to the survey report that they got a raise last year. About half were in the 1% to 3% range, with 23% reporting raises of 4% or more. Nearly 3% reported a salary decrease for the year.
About 85% of respondents reported receiving a salary of $60,000 a year or more, with 28% of respondents reporting an income in the $60,000 to $80,000 range and 26% reporting salaries of $100,000 or more.
At the same time, case managers reported putting in long hours. Nearly 76% of respondents reported working more than 40 hours a week, with 28% putting in more than 50 hours.
Today's case managers are well educated. Among respondents to the salary survey, 81% have a bachelor's degree or higher, and 34% have completed a postgraduate degree.
The majority of respondents to the salary survey are older and experienced case managers. More than half (56%) have worked in case management for 10 years or longer, and 68% have 25 or more years experience in the health care field.
Ninety-two percent of respondents are over age 40 while 13% reported being 61 years or older. Only 8% reported being age 40 or younger.
Case managers seem to be staying on the job longer than in recent years, thanks to economic conditions, says Catherine M. Mullahy, RN, BS, CRRN, CCM, president and founder of Mullahy & Associates, a case management training and consulting company.
The U.S. economy has changed the employment outlook for nurses and is affecting the number of case management jobs available, she adds.
"Times are changing a bit. Many nurses aren't retiring early. Some nurses who were working part-time are now working full-time," she reports.
As Mullahy presents workshops for case managers around the country, she frequently encounters nurses who are looking for jobs.
"I don't hear many people talking about the nursing shortage anymore. Now I'm hearing about the shortage of nursing positions," she says.
Case management turnover is low among many hospitals, which may be attributable in part to the economy but also to training and incentives that hospitals offer their case managers.
"I don't have an issue retaining care managers. When I have a vacant position, I have more applications than I can screen," adds Jamie Buller, LCSW, director of case management for St. Vincent's Health Care, a two-hospital health system in Jacksonville, FL.
When the Recovery Audit Contractors demonstration project cranked up in Florida, Buller was able to justify adding FTEs for the new position of admissions case managers. The admissions case managers work from 1:30 p.m. to midnight seven days a week and review all new admissions that are likely to be one- or two-day stays.
At St. Vincent's new case managers are assigned a proctor and work side by side with him or her for 90 days, gradually assuming a full caseload.
Most of the new hires have been from within the system, Buller reports.
"I have more success hiring internally because of the learning curve. Nurses who have worked here know all the hospital systems. What they have to learn is InterQual and the care coordination piece," she says.
When he arrived at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital System in Greenville, NC, as director of case management, James T. Jones, PhD, RN, worked with the hospital system's human resources department on a salary survey of the Greenville market.
"I discovered that at the time, we were probably below the market. The case managers might not realize it at the time, but word travels fast. I didn't want my staff to go to work at the hospital across the street," says Jones, now administrator director for case management and patient documentation.
Working with management, Jones raised case management salaries above those offered by the competition and reduced the case management caseload. The department has gone two years without a resignation.
In the past, case managers were responsible for 30 to 40 beds on their own. Now a case manager-social worker team covers 30 beds. Each team member has a 19-inch laptop he or she can use throughout the day.
"I constantly poll the staff to ask what they need to do the job. We also have a strong rewards and recognition program. We have the Cadillac of case management departments and models," Jones says.
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