New Proposals for Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Requirements

nurse measuring blood pressure of nursing home resident

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Two recent proposals, including The Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents Act, are being challenged by nursing home providers. The proposals call for minimum staffing requirements at skilled nursing facilities. Although crucial to caring for elderly residents, having enough staff would require a solution to the workforce crisis impairing the long-term care industry. In order to keep nursing homes fully staffed, providers would need additional funding and more workers.

During 2017, an unnamed U.S. state had 9,000 nursing jobs, including openings for Registered Nurses (RN), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) but only 2,500 applicants. With minimum staffing requirements and not enough workers, more nursing homes could be forced to close their doors.

The Nursing Home Workforce Quality Act, another proposal in the works, could allow more nursing homes to provide in-house CNA training. The purpose of this proposal is to increase the number of workers who are better equipped to care for senior residents.

Read the full article from McKnight’s Long-Term Care News below.

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