Jordan Rau wrote an insightful article for The New York Times about why state laws are not enough to help nursing home residents receive proper care. In his article, “Why Nursing Home Residents Still Suffer Despite Tough State Laws” he analyzed 1.3 million records of nursing home staffing levels and interviewed the residents and their families and staff to understand where nursing homes are failing their residents.
In his analysis of nursing homes, he identifies major factors that impacted residential care including:
- Persistence shortage of care workers
- Unenforced laws and regulations
- Lack of funds
Care Worker Shortage
Nursing care resident, John A. Pernorio, continuously signaled for help using his call button beside his bed at a nursing home in Rhode Island. After a workplace injury that injured his spine and prevented mobility, he needed assistance using the washroom. By the time a care worker came to his bed, he was in soiled clothing for hours. This was not the first time that Mr. Pernorio’s needs had not been met due to an understaffed nursing home.
Rau reported that the shortage of nurses and care workers in nursing homes is the root cause of many issues. Often low pay for workers contributes to burnout and low retention rates and even the most dedicated nurses and care workers are experiencing work fatigue, as they are overworked and unable to provide the quality of care they want their residents to receive.
Unenforced Laws and Regulations
Nursing homes have persistent staff shortages and state rules that mandate a minimum amount of care for each resident are not being met with little to no consequence. More than two-thirds of nursing homes in New York and more than half of them in Massachusetts were understaffed and violated the state’s minimum requirements.
States such as California, New York, and Rhode Island have tried to improve care in nursing homes by increasing the minimum amount of hours of care per resident. However, the states that passed this law have not found that it indicated better staffing. In fact, nursing homes have been able to operate with fewer workers than required with the permission of regulators, and nursing homes struggling to meet the staffing criteria of their states have appealed for leniency receiving waived and reduced fines.
Since Florida nursing homes were unable to meet the staffing standards, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation to loosen staffing rules and the daily minimum of nurse aide time. Now only 5% of nursing homes in Florida don’t meet state requirements, but if more rigorous standards were put in place to adequately support the residents, 80% of nursing home facilities would not meet the staffing criteria.
Lack of Funds
Nursing home facilities are struggling to stay open due to a lack of funds. Rick Gamache, the CEO of Aldersbridge Communities, noted that Rhode Island’s Medicaid program was not supporting nursing homes enough to allow them to operate. They were receiving $292 per bed when the daily cost was $411. This forced Aldersbridge to close their nursing home, Linn, and convert it into an assisted living facility instead.
Nursing Home facilities are struggling financially with some facilities losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. However, despite this, some researchers, lawyers, and state authorities believe that nursing homes should be reinvesting more of the money they make back into their facilities and that nursing homes need to make less of a profit to increase care for their residents.
Speak with an Experienced Nursing Home Personal Injury Attorney Today
Placing a loved one in a nursing home facility can be challenging, and it is important to do proper research to make sure that you are choosing the right facility. However, even well-staffed nursing homes can have issues.
If you believe that you or a family member has been neglected and mistreated by a nursing home, we recommend connecting with an experienced personal injury lawyer. GLP Attorneys has decades of experience supporting clients who have been neglected by nursing homes. Please call us at 1 (800) 273-5005 for a free consultation or email James Gooding at jgooding@glpattorneys.com.