Push to increase staffing but not in South Carolina

Amanda Falcone has an article about Connecticut’s attempt to increase staff in nursing homes.  A  plan to raise the minimum staff-to-resident ratio in nursing homes was described as historic, necessary and long overdue at a press conference Wednesday.

The plan would provide $9.5 million in fiscal year 2008-09, which begins on July 1, to increase staff-to-resident ratios from 1.9 hours to 4.2 hours of care per day at nursing home throughout the state.   The increase for nursing homes will be sustainable, adding that after the coming fiscal year, it will probably take about $30 million in subsequent years to maintain the change.   Staffing levels at nursing homes have not been addressed in 25 years.

Nursing staffing levels are a problem across the country, and Connecticut is no exception, said Toby S. Edelman, a senior policy attorney for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Medicare Advocacy.   Adequate nursing staff is critical to providing good care, she said.