Wednesday, April 24, 2024

New minimum staffing mandate for nursing homes rolled out by Biden Administration

by GEOFF HARRIS


WASHINGTON (TND) — More help could be coming to nursing homes across the country.

On Monday, the Biden Administration announced the first-ever minimum staffing rule for nursing homes in the United States. Opinions are split on the new rule with some saying it's what the healthcare industry needs right now but finding qualified employees could be tough.

(It) couldn't be coming at a worse time in regards to the labor market," said Brian McGarry, a health policy researcher at the University of Rochester.

Under the new minimum staffing rule, any nursing facility receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding must provide at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident daily.

Nursing home in Maine (WGME)
Nursing home in Maine (WGME)

"It's definitely going to be a challenge," McGarry said.

Included in the list of requirements is a registered nurse that must be on-site at all times.

"All day long and all night long and all evening long in the long-term care facility," said Richard Ricciardi, a professor and Associate Dean at George Washington University.

The new rule will be rolled out in phases. Rural areas will have more time to find additional staff and temporary exemptions will be made for places with workforce shortages.

Direct care workers sort through files in a hallway at Burcham Hills nursing home in East Lansing, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2023. (Rachel Louise Just/WWMT)
Direct care workers sort through files in a hallway at Burcham Hills nursing home in East Lansing, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2023. (Rachel Louise Just/WWMT)

"So we're going to give facilities time to adapt to these policies," McGarry said.

But to make this a feasible rule, McGarry tells us wages need to be discussed.

There are certainly workers out there but they are choosing not to work in this industry and that's because of the nature of the job coupled with the pay and benefits," said McGarry.

Plus, he said the resources available to healthcare workers should be a priority.

"We need to kind of make sure that these jobs are not only lucrative for people to work in but also rewarding," McGarry said.

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New minimum staffing mandate for nursing homes rolled out by Biden Administration

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