Unintended Impact of the Proposed Minimum Staffing Requirements

The Biden's Administration's proposed minimum staffing requirements should increase the quality of care in a skilled nursing facility, so why are providers pushing back so hard on this proposal??

The financial implications of creating and enforcing minimum staffing requirements would be game over for many providers assuming reimbursement rates remain stagnant, thus impacting thousands of residents receiving the care we provide every day.?

Yet, let's assume we take the reimbursement concern out of the equation. Perhaps, this makes sense??

If the administration's minimum requirements are implemented, we will need a larger workforce to serve our residents. To cover the increased open shifts, let's assume direct care workers are slow to enter the workforce to cover the higher mandated staffing levels (slow is an understatement).??

Higher staffing levels will likely cause increased?mandation?to?provide coverage for those shifts that cannot be filled to remain compliant under the minimum staffing requirements. This will increase the likelihood of care givers to become burnout, which will lead to mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion.?

As our direct care givers are mandated above their regularly scheduled shifts, their exhaustion will also lead to an increased risk to the safety of our residents. This may come in the form of a medication error, a short cut with wound care, or maybe a deviation in the transfer status of a resident.?

There is a sweet spot for staffing, however Senior living is not at the point to support a minimum staffing requirement with our current labor market; most communities have not recovered from the pandemic.?

Reimbursement is part of the answer, but we need to increase the number of caregivers to fill the void left behind post pandemic.?

Perhaps innovation can assist, but until innovation includes cloning hands to heal, most everything else is simply unneeded overhead.?

#seniorliving #burnoutprevention #nursing