Why LTC Staff Spend 100 Hours a Month on Family Calls—and How to Fix It

Jul 16 | Varsha Chaugai

Nursing staff in long-term care (LTC) homes spend nearly half their time on communication tasks. Observational research reveals that registered nurses dedicate about 48% of their shifts to communication, while other nursing staff spend 38%. That's time spent answering calls from family members seeking updates, clarifying care schedules, managing consents, and triaging complaints—often at the expense of hands-on resident care.

Multiply that across a moderately sized 80-bed home, and you quickly account for hundreds of staff hours per month. It's not just calls: emails, texts, video chats, and in-person check-ins compound the burden. This workload not only strains frontline staffing under demands like Ontario's LTC regulations but also heightens burnout and turnover.

1. Frequent family check-ins: Families call multiple times per week for updates. While driven by care and concern, it's unsustainable for staff.
2. Limited tools: Many homes still rely on manual methods: phone trees, spreadsheets, and memory. Disconnected systems force staff to re-enter information and follow up repeatedly..
3. Proximity expectations: COVID-19 changed the baseline. Families expect connection—even when they can't visit.
4. Regulatory complexity: Ontario's Fixing Long-Term Care Act and the U.S. 21st Century Cures Act mandate timely, documented family communication.

Most LTC teams aren't idle—they've tried the basics:

• Monthly newsletters
• Whiteboards listing meals and events
• Calling windows to reduce disruption
• Occasional video calls for care conferences

These efforts help—but only up to a point. As one Director of Care put it: “We've done all this, but the phone still rings.”

Here's why:

• Manual solutions don't scale. Staff still have to prep, print, post, and chase.
• Disjointed communication creates gaps. Families hear one thing from the admin, another from nurses.
• No feedback loop. There's no way to know if updates were received, read, or understood.
• No audit trail. For compliance, phone calls and paper notes don't cut it.

To truly reduce communication workload, you need a system that's automated, structured, and trackable—not just digital.

That's where Engage⁺ makes the difference.

At Shannondell, a 120-bed skilled nursing facility, appointment scheduling once meant spreadsheets and endless calls. After implementing Engage⁺, they automated family updates and reminders, resulting in a 70% decrease in scheduling-related calls. Nurses reclaimed time, and families stayed informed without follow-up requests.

Engage⁺ is a PointClickCare-integrated resident and family platform designed specifically for LTC homes. It's not just a communication tool—it's a system-wide communication upgrade:

• Automated notifications: Share health updates, falls, medication changes, and activity logs in real time.
• Audit-ready logs: Every message, consent, and update is documented for compliance.
• Calendar and consent tools: SSchedule appointments and manage vaccine/clinic consent with zero phone tag.
• Integrated invoicing: Digitize billing and eliminate the time and cost of printing and mailing.

Homes using Engage⁺ have seen:

• 40-60% less time spent on communication
• 4+ hours per staff member per week reclaimed
• 90% family portal engagement
• Fewer complaints and stronger satisfaction scores

You've tried the workarounds. Engage⁺ offers the system.

1. Audit your team's communication time for one week.
2. Identify the biggest time sinks—scheduling? status updates? complaints?
3. Test a centralized solution like Engage⁺ with one module (e.g., appointment updates or health event alerts).
4. Track results and scale across your organization.

Staff shouldn't have to choose between documenting care and delivering it. And families shouldn't have to chase updates or worry about missed details.

With the right tools—and a system that's designed around PointClickCare—LTC homes can shift from reactive firefighting to proactive, trusted communication.

If the phone still rings despite your best efforts, it may be time to take the next step.

👉 Download our free ebook: Breaking Barriers: Redefining Family Communication in LTC

Or contact us for a walkthrough of Engage⁺ to see how it could work in your home.