While driving to our son’s house, my wife and I encountered a traffic jam that was identified on my traffic app as “bottleneck ahead.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a bottleneck is “a problem that delays progress.” That was sure true on that day, as traffic went from an average of 70 mph to a standstill. For several miles we never exceeded 6 mph, and most of the time was spent making no progress whatsoever. What caused the bottleneck was bridge repairs that rendered one of two westbound lanes closed. What exaggerated the bottleneck was inattention by drivers.
Church and business leaders are always looking to mitigate bottleneck that hinder quality service or growth. For example, a church can have great worship and plenty of seating, but if the parking lot is too small, lack of parking becomes a bottleneck. I was recently at a Big-Box store with 12 checkout lanes. However, only two were open, and it was clear that customers were getting upset at this bottleneck. Over time, the frustrations caused by bottlenecks may cause customers to find another place to shop.
At Baptist Homes, our bottleneck is nursing staff. We have four campuses that could serve more neighbors & residents, but a lack of nursing staff is hindering our ability to fulfill our mission to the aging and their families. We are addressing the bottleneck by seeking to provide strong wages and great benefits while getting the word out that we have need of great nurses, from Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) to Director of Nursing (DON). Did you know that a CNA that made $20,000 per year two years ago can easily make $40,000 or more. This is a great career path with educational paths for other positions in healthcare. The bottleneck is that few are pursuing these entry level positions.
When I was a nursing student, there was a prevailing attitude that great students found careers in acute care (hospitals), whereas mediocre ones ended up in long-term care (nursing homes). This attitude not only exasperated me, but it also motivated me to pursue a career in long-term care. I have seen a similar attitude in churches regarding full-time verses bi-vocational pastors. The problem with these attitudes is that they fail to realize these career paths are equal to but different from one another. Nevertheless, such attitudes are a bottleneck in our churches and in our nursing homes.
Inattention to attitudes can create a bottleneck for staffing a nursing home or securing a pastor. I hope you will join with me in applauding Missouri’s pastors, whether they are full-time or bi-vocational, and encouraging those in healthcare professions to value all areas of service, be they in acute care, preventative care or long-term care settings.