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November 1, 2022
In this Issue:
- Staffing in Nursing Homes and How It Affects Residents
- See the Agenda for the Virtual Consumer Voice Conference
- Save the Date: Virtual Office Hour on Visitation During the Holidays
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Inadequate Staffing in Nursing Homes and How It Affects Residents
Chronic understaffing has been a serious problem in nursing homes for decades and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While there are numerous factors contributing to this problem, one major cause is the lack of adequate minimum staffing standards at both the state and federal levels. Consumer Voice has continued to focus on staffing in nursing homes as an advocacy priority.
- Report: High Staff Turnover: A Job Quality Crisis in Nursing Homes - Our report sheds light on how nursing homes with higher staff turnover perform poorly in a variety of measures. It examines how staff turnover harms residents, the causes of high turnover, and offers solutions to this endemic problem.
- Last Spring, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that included requests for information regarding the implementation of a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes. Minimum standards ensure that staffing will not fall to a level that would be harmful to residents. Consumer Voice submitted comments to CMS strongly supporting the proposal for a minimum staffing standard. CMS stated it planned to propose a minimum staffing standard within one year.
- Report: Staffing Matters - Our report looked at federal data regarding nursing home staffing levels and how it affects outcomes for residents. It found that nursing homes with higher staffing levels have higher overall, health inspection, and staffing ratings. Plus, the data also revealed that as staffing levels decrease in nursing homes, the instances of resident abuse rise.
Learn more about our work around staffing in nursing homes on our website.
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See the Agenda for the Virtual Consumer Voice Conference
Join us online December 8-9, 2022 for the virtual portion of the Consumer Voice Conference!
- Listen to key experts discuss the latest policy updates;
- Hear the voice of long-term care consumers;
- Connect with advocates nationwide and learn about best practices;
- Gain skills relevant to your work; and
- Get revitalized and equipped with new tools to put your systems and individual advocacy into action!
Plus, view select recorded sessions from the in-person conference.
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Save the Date: Virtual Office Hour on Visitation During the Holidays
The National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) is hosting a virtual open office hour the last Wednesday of each month at 2:00 pm ET for long-term care Ombudsmen representatives. The next call is Wednesday, November 30th. This is an opportunity to ask questions, share information, and have open conversations with your peers and NORC staff.
The focus of the November call will be visitation in nursing homes during the holidays. These Zoom calls do not include a structured presentation and are open to all State Ombudsmen and their program representatives. These calls will not be recorded and do not require registration. Use this link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85675114259
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