Skilled nursing facilities should anticipate a proposed federal minimum staffing rule as early as Spring 2023, with PBJ data central to compliance measurement and enforcement.
This staffing study seeks to help identify a minimum staffing level, which would include RN, LPNs/LVNs, and CNAs, that will establish a threshold below which residents would be at substantially increased risk of not receiving the safe and quality care they deserve. Importantly, this study is on an accelerated timeline and seeks to build on, not replace, previous studies.
Karikari-Martin, Pauline, and Cameron Ingram. “Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Staffing Study to Inform Minimum Staffing Requirements for Nursing Homes.” CMS.gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 22 Aug. 2022, www.cms.gov/blog/centers-medicare-medicaid-services-staffing-study-inform-minimum-staffing-requirements-nursing-homes.
Providers Push Back on CMS’s Move to Zero in on Nursing Roles in Minimum Staffing Study
Nursing home providers and industry leaders renewed their pleas this week to federal government officials to consider non-nursing positions in its proposed minimum staffing requirements, perhaps to no avail.
“We know that here we’re looking and talking about nurses, but there are nursing homes throughout the country that have changed some of their models …. As we’re looking towards the future for minimum staffing, we need to make sure that all the interdisciplinary team is taken into account.”
— Skilled Nursing News, August 30, 2022
Warning on staffing minimum: Studying costs won’t matter if pay doesn’t add up
Cost analysis will be “an important part” of a final report on federal minimum staffing standards, the head of a national study assured nursing home stakeholders Monday.
“This issue is already a crisis with providers reducing occupancy and not meeting existing community needs… Unfortunately, the new proposals with no additional funding would exacerbate the current crisis and make it more difficult to hire needed staff. This will lead to fewer older adults able to receive skilled nursing care and more closures in rural areas with already limited health care options.”
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, August 30, 2022
Hello, CMS? This is desperation calling
There was a stark, though not at all unexpected, dichotomy between participants in Monday’s listening session to gather input on coming nursing home staff minimums. On the one hand, you had consumer advocates — armed with the Biden administration’s aggressive reform push and 20 years of resentment about perceived understaffing — ready to throw fuel on the fire.
“I would like to know what CMS is planning on doing in terms of areas of the country where we are truly struggling hard to find staff. Where I’m located at, it is a daily battle to find staff, to find nurses, to find CNAs.”
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, August 30, 2022
CMS outlines 4-pronged minimum staffing study
“AHCA will continue to urge the administration that an unfunded staffing mandate is unrealistic and will only further limit access to care for vulnerable seniors. We need a comprehensive, collaborative approach to tackling this labor crisis in long-term care, and we also need to acknowledge the variety of staff members in addition to our amazing nurses who greatly contribute to the care residents receive.”
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, August 23, 2022
CMS to Visit Nursing Homes as Part of Minimum Staffing Proposal
Nursing home leaders may soon hear from the federal government, if they haven’t already, to schedule site visits as part of the agency’s efforts toward proposing a staffing minimum sometime next year.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contractor Abt Associates will visit 65 nursing homes across all 10 regions between August and October, according to an Aug. 10 blog post written by Jodi Eyigor, LeadingAge’s director of nursing home quality and policy.
The visit will include a meeting with the administrator and director of nursing (DON), three to four registered nurses (RNs), three to four licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and three to four certified nurse aides (CNAs) for interviews. Interviews will also be conducted with two to three residents and family members who are available during the visit.
— Skilled Nursing News, August 14, 2022
