13,000 Lives Saved Per Year

Unsafe staffing levels and turnover are major problems for the 1.3 million people who live in nursing homes. The Biden administration’s federal rule setting minimum safe standards for staffing would save 13,000 lives a year.

The rules will be phased in over the next years. They require a registered nurse to be on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and mandate a minimum of 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident per day, mostly from nursing aides. Staffing studies indicate a safe level starts at 4.1. hours of nursing care per resident per day.

In homes with more nurses and aides, residents experience fewer bedsores and urinary tract infections. They stay more active and live longer.

The for-profit nursing home industry diverts billions in profits to related entities, executives and shareholders — money that should be redirected toward hiring more nurses to care for the vulnerable adults under their care.

Meanwhile, Trump and GOP want to bankroll tax cuts for billionaires by gutting Medicaid and health care for children, seniors, and people with disabilities.