While the federal nursing home staffing mandate may have been put on ice, the hunt for sufficient workforce remains as hot as ever.

And given the crush of elderly entering various stages of the aging services pipeline, it’s not going to cool down any time soon. Even providers who seem to find something that resembles adequate staffing levels are going to continue to feel the pressure.

That much was reinforced again when I was reading about some of the potential fallout from the new tax bill. One analyst pointed out that census is liable to start getting clogged more in hospitals because there just won’t be enough available skilled nursing beds.

Or rather the beds may exist but they won’t be available because there won’t be enough workers to enable them to be back online. Shuttered wings, floors or even facilities could be left out of play. 

Maybe that’s why I was so tickled by an internet headline early Wednesday morning: “Diligent Robotics completes 300,000 pharmacy deliveries with Moxi.” The Moxi robot isn’t entirely new to the healthcare scene. Nor is it the only robot of note out there.

It turns out the pharmacy deliveries are only the tip of an iceberg. Overall, Diligent’s fleet of ‘bots have completed 1 million deliveries in hospitals. Then there’s also the 100,000 independent elevator rides they’ve been central to. 

But that’s not what really caught my eye. It was the comment from Diligent’s CEO that said the company is looking to increase Moxi’s usefulness in hospitals — but also to expand to other settings like “nursing homes, elder care, rehab, skilled nursing.”

Do I think a stunning influx of Moxis or other robots is going to happen soon? No. But with no insider knowledge of the company, I can also say “Who knows?” about the possible eventuality of it. Investors have certainly been charmed by the Moxi appeal. 

The key is, at some point, we do know there will have to be more applied technology and automation in skilled nursing. Not for direct patient care, of course. But without a doubt for repetitious or mundane tasks that don’t need a “high touch” aspect to them.

Anyone scoffing at that notion surely has forgotten how far we’ve come from the days of the manual spreadsheet, or even the youngest days of data analytics.

Once the right technology takes hold, there’s no turning back. We have capitalistic market forces to thank for that, and there’s no reason to think that dynamic will change. If a new technology proves to truly be helpful, it will find a home quickly.

That’s because in long-term care, making the job easier has never been needed more.

James M. Berklan is McKnight’s Long-Term Care News’ Executive Editor and a winner in the Best Commentary category in the 2024 Neal Awards, which are given annually for the nation’s best specialized business journalism.

Opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News columns are not necessarily those of McKnight’s.