While a resident advocacy group and nursing home industry lobbyists may disagree on most subjects, a new report indicates that they might find common ground in one area: staffing.
Families for Better Care has long been a thorn in the long-term care industry’s side, having frequently accused certain states of providing poor nursing home care. But the organization is now calling for a “new solution,” said Executive Director Brian Lee.
“The best way to heal America’s nursing homes is to appropriate additional funding to be used solely for hiring more staff,” Lee stated. “No more excuses, no more threats, no more scare tactics from lobbyists, politicians, operators — or anyone else for that matter. It’s time to do what’s right and stop the infliction of our loved ones with unnecessary injury or harm because of negligent policy making.”
In the past two years, the national report card has found residents are receiving an average of less than 2 hours and 33 minutes of direct care each day. Most states experienced a net loss in the percentage of nursing homes with above average staffing levels over the past three report cards.
The third Families for Better Care nursing home report card, released Monday, evaluates states on eight different federal quality measures, including deficiencies. The states with the biggest gains in overall ranking were New York, Mississippi and Nevada, while Vermont, Massachusetts and Arkansas had major losses. Texas, North Carolina and Illinois ranked as the poorest.
