Home health workers face unique challenges—like unpredictable schedules, emotionally difficult work, and low compensation with few benefits—that lead to burnout and high turnover. As a result, retention is a notably difficult hurdle for employers. However, it’s not insurmountable. In this article, we’ll explore how earned wage access, a modern employee benefit, has become a leading retention tactic for home health orgs.

A Look at the Turnover Problem

Churn is—and has been for years—an issue across the healthcare industry. While this isn’t a new issue, healthcare orgs and staffing agencies have found little success in their attempts to combat turnover, as is evidenced by these startling stats from recent years:

• The average annual turnover rate for nursing staff in nursing homes was 128%, according to a 2021 study.

• The average hospital turnover rate for RNs was 103.1% in the last 5 years, according to a 2025 study.

Modern Solution for an Age-Old Issue

Myriad reasons can contribute to turnover. However, when it’s an endemic problem in an industry, causes can be identified. Healthcare shift workers receive low hourly compensation with few benefits for demanding work, leading to low annual earnings and income insecurity. To support themselves and their family, many work multiple jobs and/or rely on public assistance, like Medicaid. Without much of a safety net and the stress of living paycheck to paycheck, it’s no wonder that burnout is high among caregivers.

Raising wages may not be feasible for employers, but offering high-impact benefits that alleviate financial stress can make a difference in improving morale and retention numbers. Earned wage access (EWA) is a leading solution.

EWA enables workers to access a portion of their pay after logging a shift. Whether they need money for groceries or to pay off a credit card bill, they can tap into their wages on demand and before payday.

Healthcare organizations using Keeper’s EWA platform report 25% lower turnover. This is an incredible result since burnout can cost an average of $3,999 per hourly worker annually. Additionally, Keeper doesn’t charge employers to onboard or maintain this benefit, making it a zero-cost and zero-risk investment in employees’ well-being.

Learn more about this valuable retention tactic. Request a demo to see how Keeper helps you attract and retain the best caregivers.