Nursing homes fight new bill calling for minimum staffing requirements
MELBOURNE: Nursing home providers are fighting legislation that would require nursing facilities to meet minimum staffing requirements, and are asking lawmakers to instead address the industry labor shortage.
Introduced Nov. 21 by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents Act would update minimum staffing requirements for nursing facilities that are part of Medicare and Medicaid programs. The proposal has also been referred to two House committees.
Without extra funding, the bill would make it “impossible for facilities to implement new mandates” without risking closures, Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, said in a Nov. 22 statement.
“Our profession suffers from a critical workforce shortage and setting minimum staffing levels will not solve that issue,” Mr. Parkinson said. “We need solutions like loan forgiveness that will help attract more workers to the long term care profession.”
“In the words of one of our members: ‘We don’t even have people to interview, much less hire,” Katie Smith Sloan, LeadingAge CEO and president, said. “Last year [2017], we had 9,000 RN, LPN, and CNA jobs in our state and only 2,500 applicants.”
The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care supports the proposed legislation.
