AI and Staffing

A recent article from Skilled Nursing News highlights a growing trend in long-term care: the adoption of AI-powered monitoring systems. On paper, the benefits seem like a promising way to respond to worsening staffing shortages and increasing patient acuity. AI can offer predictive alerts, fall detection, streamlined documentation, even workload balancing. But as with all things in nursing homes, the promise of new technology must be weighed against the lived reality of care.

The truth is, AI can guide care, but it cannot provide care. It is an incredibly powerful and helpful tool that can be used by nursing homes to do so many tasks more efficiently, such as; flagging risk, alerting staff to unusual movements, or even recommending changes to a resident’s care plan. But it can’t feed someone. It can’t reposition a resident to prevent a pressure sore. It can’t notice subtle behavioral shifts, or make a judgment call in a moment of distress. And it definitely can’t offer comfort, empathy, or protection in moments of vulnerability.

The real danger lies not in the technology itself, but in how facilities use it. If AI becomes a reason to cut staff or lower vigilance, we haven’t advanced care. but rather we’ve just automated the neglect. As litigation professionals, we’ve seen firsthand what happens when care is deprioritized in favor of efficiency: complaints unanswered, wounds untreated, basic needs unmet. If anything, AI may expose even more liability as facilities overpromise and underdeliver.

There are real legal implications, too. When an AI system fails to detect a fall or incorrectly flags a behavior, who is responsible? The software vendor? The understaffed facility? The nurse who was told the system would “catch everything”? Until clearer standards and accountability structures are established, AI creates as much ambiguity as it does potential.

AI can be part of the solution. Used well, it could free up time, improve response, and enhance care. But only if it supplements, not replaces the presence of trained, compassionate human caregivers. If facilities treat it like a shortcut, we’re not solving the crisis, but rather potentially worsening it.