Unsafe staffing caused the caregiver at Autumn Heights Care Center to call 911 for emergency assistance on Christmas Day. Apparently, only one nurse caring for 50 residents. On Christmas morning, the exasperated and overworked nurse requested residents be transferred to local hospitals for their own safety. The 911 call requested help immediately because of unsafe
Acuity-Based Staffing A Virginia legislative commission recommended increasing minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes to improve the quality of care for residents. Members of the Joint Commission on Health Care approved a proposal to base minimum staffing standards on the needs and conditions of residents living in a facility. Sounds like a reasonable way to
Thousands of people hospitalized across the country are stuck. Not in airports. In hospitals. These people do not need hospital care and treatment. Nursing homes refuse to accept them without getting more federal funds. The shortages in the long term care facilities restrict the hospitals’ ability to transfer those patients out of a hospital. The
The Consumer Voice is a well-respected advocacy group for nursing home residents. They published a report on nursing home staffing. The report analyzes staffing standards in each state. Nursing homes clearly provide unsafe staffing compared to well-established studies on staffing and quality of care. Short and unsafe staffing causes custodial neglect and negative outcomes. Chronic understaffing
Data Metrics CMS continues to rely on nursing home’s self-reported and unreliable data for adjustments to the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM). PDPM went into effect Oct. 1, 2019. It was the biggest change to the nursing home reimbursement system in 20 years. Colleen Muncy is with data analytics firm StarPro. She told McKnight’s Long-Term
Unsafe Staffing The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that nursing homes across Georgia and South Carolina are suffering widespread staffing shortages. Nursing homes often had unsafe staffing before the pandemic but the situation worsened as working conditions prompted workers to leave the industry. Katie Smith Sloan is CEO of LeadingAge, a national organization that represents 5,000 nonprofit