Nursing Home Staffing
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This article originally appeared in the Plattsburgh Press-Republican’s Senior Sentinel …
This month we would like to bring to your attention the requirements for staffing in nursing homes. Like everyone else in the community staffing is a struggle. There have been allocations made by the governor to assist facilities through COVID, and post COVID. A public health law was passed in 2021, to become effective January 1, 2022, but was suspended due to the public health emergency. The law requires every nursing home to maintain a minimum daily average staffing hours equal to 3.5 hours of care per resident per day by a certified nursing aide known as a CNA, and a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or registered nurse (RN). This law was put on hold to allow facilities to rebuild their staff without penalties. Many left the healthcare field, especially in our nursing homes. This has remained a challenging feat, however, we are beginning to see changes and local staffing is improving. The Governor's suspension of the implementation of this law has now ended.
It is expected that at a minimum each resident should receive 2.2 hours of direct care from a CNA, and no less than 1.1 hours per day provided by the LPN or an RN. The law also requires that 70% of the revenues in the nursing home is to be spent on direct resident care with at least 40% of this being spent on staffing. Another stipulation is that the nursing home operators will be required to return all profits in excess of 5% to the state.
The Department of Health (DOH) will begin assessments of compliance of this law beginning July 10, 2023. Facilities may be assessed fines of up to $2,000 per day for noncompliance.
Residents in long term care facilities have many rights. You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect at all times. These minimum standards should improve care for the residents while also offering more help to those already providing care to our residents. Thank you to the staff who have chosen to dedicate their careers to Long Term Care it is so greatly appreciated.
Should you have questions or concerns around staffing in facilities that your loved ones are in, you may always reach out to the Ombudsmen Program. For Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties, the program is located at the North Country Center for independence. We can be reached at 518-562-1732. Please do not hesitate to reach out at any time with any concerns.
