The Biden-Harris administration has released their fact sheet on how they plan to improve the long term care industry.
Over 1.2 million Americans live in nursing homes and that number is set to increase in the coming years as the large population of baby boomers age.
What you need to know
New minimum staffing rules require increased nursing care time for nursing home residents. All nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding must have:
3.48 hours per resident per day of total staffing
- RN hours: 0.55 per resident per day
- CNA hours: 2.45 per resident per day
- LPN/RN/LVN: 0.48 hours per resident per day
Increased staffing levels are meant to benefit residents, nurses, and nursing home facilities. For residents, the quality of care will go up with increased nursing hours. For nurses and aides, additional support from coworkers and agency staff will help alleviate stress, burnout, and high turnover rates. While facilities may struggle with finding adequate staffing, platforms like ESHYFT offer a easy, quick, and cost-effective way to fill shift gaps.
Is my facility understaffed?
For a facility with 100 residents, you would need:
- 2 or 3 RNs
- 10 or 11 CNAs
Some nursing homes will require even more care, depending on their residents’ acuity and needs.
In addition, CMS is finalizing the requirement to have an RN on site 24/7 to provide skilled nursing care. The on staff RN can be a Director of Nursing (DON) but must be able to provide direct care for residents.
Does this rule apply to every nursing home?
There may be some exemptions which allow for regulatory flexibility for some nursing homes, which are hard to staff due to not having nearby staff. Those nursing homes must apply to receive a temporary hardship exemption.
When does this rule come into effect?
Compliance for the new minimum staffing guidelines will happen in phases:
- Phase 1 — Within 90 days of the final rule publication, facilities must meet the facility assessment requirements.
- Phase 2 — Within two years of the final rule publication, facilities must meet the 3.48 HPRD total nurse staffing requirement and the 24/7 RN requirement.
- Phase 3 — Within three years of the final rule publication, facilities must meet the 0.55 RN and 2.45 NA HPRD requirements.
You can review the entire final rule on the Federal Register website.