How to get good aides to work in a behavior facility?

Nurse aide staffing is short here. It has been for a while. I think we have three aides on night shift and only three on afternoon shift. A new aide was hired for night shift a couple of weeks ago. She was here a short time, but, long enough to report that a more experienced aide was rude to residents. After that, the experienced aide was fired. Subsequently, the new aide quit. So in essence the facility lost two aides, or one, depending on how the math is done.

I don't think they've ever been this shortstaffed. Also, it's income tax refund time and some aides would rather not work when they have cash in their pockets. Some take time off, or vacations, if they can. A few others just quit and then look for another.

Even though the company who owns the nursing home has nurse aide training classes every month. I don't think a student has been hired in a while. If I were running things, I would want to hire at least two aides. This is a 50 bed facility and it's pretty much full. Presently there are two empty beds.

I know there's a drug problem in this town. Maybe people are having a rough time passing the drug test. The facility also requires potential employees (including aides) to pay for their background check upfront, and then be reimbursed later on. We heard one aide was coming back to work over a month ago. I chatted with him on Facebook today and he said he does not have the funds to pay for the background check.

To me, if it was important to get a trained aide hired, the company would pay. I can understand why they want a prospective aide to pay for the background check. It shows responsibility, and indicates that potential employee will show up up and work the schedule that is given. It also might show that the potential employee is depending on the company reimbursing them. It costs companies a lot to hire a new employee. A few years ago I read it can cost as much as $200 to hire someone for a minimum wage job.  Most entry jobs here are minimum wage except for nurses and nurse aides. The aides wage is a bit higher. Of course, the more experience they have coming in, the better the pay.

Most aides here complain that the pay is low. I'm sure it is relatively speaking. But for the job they have to do here, it is not that bad. I sat here last night and counted how many residents here actually need care from these aides. There are probably only 10 residents that need moderate care and above. Five more probably need mild to moderate care. The rest pretty much take care of their own physical needs. They may need some assistance with bathing, getting shaved, and getting the supplies they need to care for themselves. But this is not a typical nursing home where all the residents are in bed most of the time.

I have told the aides their job here is easier then the aide jobs at my previous nursing home. There the residents were older and many were there to die, no doubt. There were some younger residents who had traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, mental and emotional problems, and paralysis. There were few residents who could take care of most of their own needs during the day.

I don't know what the answer to the aide's shortage is. But I know what the question is. How do you get people to be aides in nursing homes when many of the residents have behavioral problems and cognitive impairments?

I'd like to meet the person who has the answer to that.