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Jilly_in_VA

(10,846 posts)
Thu Dec 1, 2022, 08:34 AM Dec 2022

Why the government lets nursing facilities get away with poor staffing

Regulators have allowed thousands of nursing homes across America to flout federal staffing rules by going an entire day and night without a registered nurse on duty, a USA TODAY investigation has found.

Nearly all of them got away with it: Only 4% were cited by government inspectors. Even fewer were fined.

When other nursing home caregivers are added into the equation, one-third of U.S. facilities fell short of multiple benchmarks the federal government has created for nurse and aide staffing.

Low-income residents, disproportionately people of color, fare the worst. Their nursing homes report the lowest staffing levels, but data show they seldom get in trouble because of it.

A USA TODAY investigation has documented, for the first time, how rarely the federal government enforces decades-old staffing guidelines and rules for nursing homes.

Citations and penalties remained sparse even as regulators developed three ways to measure staffing. In the spring, they will propose a fourth approach.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2022/12/01/skilled-nursing-facilities-staffing-problems-biden-reforms/8318780001/

This might be the most depressing article I've read all week. A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable.

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Why the government lets nursing facilities get away with poor staffing (Original Post) Jilly_in_VA Dec 2022 OP
Yes it is and we suck. Phoenix61 Dec 2022 #1
I had to put my mom in a nursing home while recovering from back surgery. Dustlawyer Dec 2022 #2
My client was a nurse's aide in a nursing home. no_hypocrisy Dec 2022 #3
This message was self-deleted by its author no_hypocrisy Dec 2022 #4

Phoenix61

(17,594 posts)
1. Yes it is and we suck.
Thu Dec 1, 2022, 08:42 AM
Dec 2022

On that note, I’ve slowly become invisible over the years. I’ve talked to friends and they have noticed the same phenomenon. Bartenders, waitstaff, even receptionists seem not to see me. It started in my mid-fifties and shows no signs of slowing. Interestingly, people in other countries seem to have no problem seeing me. No big surprise they are cultures that believe wisdom comes with age.

Dustlawyer

(10,518 posts)
2. I had to put my mom in a nursing home while recovering from back surgery.
Thu Dec 1, 2022, 09:07 AM
Dec 2022

They were supposed to rehab her, instead they almost killed her. She ended up in ICU and now home with home health care. It was horrible and they were “the best in our area” according to everyone I spoke to.

no_hypocrisy

(48,689 posts)
3. My client was a nurse's aide in a nursing home.
Thu Dec 1, 2022, 09:21 AM
Dec 2022

She was assigned 10 residents to serve meals, to feed, to clean up, to bathe, to change, to answer emergencies, to give meds, to dress, and more. And expected to avoid “neglecting” any of them at any given time.

Untenable

Response to Jilly_in_VA (Original post)

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