New nursing home staffing rule mandates 24/7 nurses
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — The Biden administration has finalized a groundbreaking rule establishing minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes receiving federal funding.
Minimum care hours and 24/7 on-site nurses required
Under the new rule, nursing homes must provide a minimum of 3.48 hours of direct care per resident per day, including:
- 0.55 hours from registered nurses (RNs)
- 2.45 hours from certified nurse aides
Crucially, facilities must have an RN on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide oversight and care.
“When facilities are understaffed, residents may go without basic necessities like baths, trips to the bathroom, and meals – and it is less safe when residents have a medical emergency,” the White House noted in a fact sheet.
The requirements will be phased in over the next two to three years, with rural communities given longer timeframes.
Temporary exemptions will be available for nursing homes facing workforce shortages that demonstrate good-faith efforts to hire staff.
American Health Care Association slams new policy
While advocates for nursing home residents have welcomed the move, industry groups have voiced concerns, noting the staff shortages plaguing health systems.
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) called the new rule an “unreasonable standard” that could lead to nursing home closures and limit senior citizens’ access to care.
“Issuing a final rule that demands hundreds of thousands of additional caregivers when there’s a nationwide shortfall of nurses just creates an impossible task for providers,” said AHCA President and CEO Mark Parkinson.
“This unfunded mandate doesn’t magically solve the nursing crisis.”
The AHCA also noted that the new staffing requirement would cost an additional $6.8 billion associated with the wages and benefits required to hire more full-time equivalents.
“Some facilities may need to reduce admissions or number of beds in a facility to meet staffing ratios. If [Skilled Nursing Facilities] are unable to increase their workforce, hundreds of thousands of residents could be impacted by census reductions,” AHCA said.
