Although pay and benefits for post-acute care nurses have not always matched up to nurses in acute settings, that has changed in the past five to 10 years, said Andrea Devoti, MSN, RN, executive vice president of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, according to Nurse.com.
Post-acute care nurses, including those who work in home care, hospice, palliative care and long-term care, typically make $1 per hour or so less than nurses in acute care. But this rate is better than the pay disparities of $5 or $6 an hour Ms. Devoti said she previously saw.
In many U.S. areas, employers' salary and benefits packages for post-acute nurses match or nearly match what acute care nurses are offered. This is because more employers recognize home care, hospice, palliative care and long-term care patients are often as sick as hospital patients, Ms. Devoti said.