Staffing Mandates — Yes (Part 1)

By Steve Moran

This is the first article in a three-part series on staffing mandates.

A few weeks ago the federal government announced the long-anticipated/dreaded staffing mandates proposal. Since the first announcement I have been reading the commentary coming out of the industry, and it is universally critical for a lot of valid reasons.

And yet …

AHCA has taken a hard position that not only are these staffing mandates a terrible idea, but that staffing mandates as a concept is a bad idea. LeadingAge has taken a more nuanced position, not quite supporting staffing mandates but also saying we need to get the staffing thing right.

The idea that we should have no staffing mandate is dumb.

It Makes The Industry Look Bad

In the eyes of the public: When the public sees the industry opposes any and all staffing mandates, their already negative view of our industry is reinforced. It sends the message that profits are more important than people, that the only thing that matters is profits.

In the eyes of frontline workers: Most communities run as lean as they can when it comes to care staff. They do this to control costs and because finding enough staff is a huge challenge. This means that the lowest paid people in every community are the ones paying the biggest emotional/mental health price for the crisis and making the least amount of money.

Opposing staffing mandates of any kind sends the message that owners and operators don’t care about team members, they don’t care about residents.

As of the date this was written there are nearly 5,000 public comments. Here are some randomly selected ones supporting the mandates. It appears there are many more comments supporting the mandates than opposing them.

LTC facilities needs more staffing in all departments. The facilities need adequate staffing to ensure the residents are given proper care and to provide safety for the residents and staff.

A couple of additional observations about these comments: As you read through these and other pro comments you will find some similarities that are a clue that they were submitted as part of a campaign by various interest groups. This will also be true of the comments opposing the mandates.

Reasonable Staffing Mandates

No airline can fly unless they have the minimum numbers of pilots and flight attendants, and I promise you that not a single senior living executive would be in favor of eliminating that staffing mandate. Same thing for trains. Child care centers all have minimum staffing requirements; no one thinks that is a bad idea. Reasonable mandates are good for the industry, good for team members, and most importantly, they are good for residents. They will even be good for owners and operators.

Lead or Follow

Post-acute providers have gotten used to having things done to them rather than leading the pack. Hospitals on the other hand have mostly been in charge of their destiny by staying out in front of threats. They tell stories about changed lives. They lobby like crazy. They also recognize that some regulation is inevitable and even good. Rather than fighting everything, they support regulation that works for them instead of against them.

The industry has this unique opportunity to say, “Staffing mandates are good for residents, good for families, and good for team members. Here is what they should look like, and we are going to fight for the right kind of staffing mandates.”

More on this in a future article in this series. Subscribe to Foresight here so you don’t miss a post.