For skilled nursing facilities in disadvantaged communities, the staffing gap translates to 5 hours and 36 minutes less daily RN care per 100 residents compared to similar facilities in more affluent areas.
Severe neighborhood deprivation and nursing home staffing in the United States
Compared to less deprived neighborhoods, unadjusted staffing rates in facilities located within severely deprived neighborhoods were 38% lower for physical and occupational therapists, 30% lower for registered nurses (RNs), and 5% lower for certified nursing assistants. No disparities in licensed practical nurse (LPN) staffing were observed. Significant staffing disparities were observed within facilities located in severely deprived neighborhoods. Targeted interventions, including workforce recruitment and retention efforts, may be needed to improve staffing levels for nursing homes in deprived neighborhoods.
Falvey, Jason R., et al. Severe neighborhood deprivation and nursing home staffing in the United States. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 08 August 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17990
Staffing more challenging for nursing homes in socioeconomically deprived areas, study finds
“Significant staffing disparities were observed within facilities located in severely deprived neighborhoods. Targeted interventions, including workforce recruitment and retention efforts, may be needed to improve staffing levels for nursing homes in deprived neighborhoods,” wrote researchers Jason R. Falvey DPT, PhD; Erinn M. Hade, PhD; Steven Friedman, MS, and colleagues.
— McKnight’s Senior Living, April 13, 2023
Living and Working in Economically Deprived Neighborhoods: LTC Facility Location Impacts Staffing
There is a connection between the economics of a neighborhood and the likelihood of having poor health outcomes which, in turn, increases the risk of institutionalization. In facilities located in under-resourced communities, it is more likely that staffing may be negatively affected. We need to draw our attention to the impact of economics on the health of our fellow citizens as well as staffing at facilities which care for medically complex individuals.
— Annals of Long-Term Care, April 06, 2023
Study: Nursing Home Staffing in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods
“When you’re analyzing data at the larger zip-code level, you may miss the nuances of disadvantaged communities within those zip codes. But when you take the analysis down to the neighborhood level, it is obvious that the negative relationship between a nursing home being in a deprived neighborhood and staffing is pretty substantial.”
— The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, February 2023
Nursing Home Staffing Struggles Add to Health Disparity in Disadvantaged Communities
“We found that nursing staff with generally lower salaries and training–CNAs and LPNs–had smaller or no disparities in staffing compared with RNs. This suggests that nursing homes in more disadvantaged communities may be substituting care by staff with less training.”
— HealthLeaders Media, August 19, 2022
Federal Staffing Minimums Won’t Solve Labor Woes For Nursing Homes in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods
“If the nursing home is reflective of the neighborhood, how do we change that to improve the desirability to work in those nursing homes? That’s something that we need to make sure that we’re paying attention to when we’re making these minimum staffing standards.”
— Skilled Nursing News, August 14, 2022
Researcher: Target funding to address potentially harmful staffing disparities
“This might include enhancing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to these facilities using geographically ‘micro-targeted’ funding sources, workforce recruitment efforts focused on pay, transportation, and working conditions, and efforts to retain staff such as opportunities for CNAs and LPNs to complete training as RNs.”
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care, August 11, 2022
Nursing home staffing is worse in disadvantaged communities
“Most skilled nursing facilities are already concerned about low staff-to-resident ratios, but our analysis reveals that this gap is even worse in disadvantaged communities.” A further analysis revealed that in a 100-bed nursing facility in a severely disadvantaged neighborhood, RNs provided five hours and 36 minutes less care per day compared to a similar facility in a less disadvantaged area.
— EurekAlert!, August 10, 2022
Severe neighborhood deprivation and nursing home staffing in the United States
This cross-sectional study used 2018 daily payroll-based staffing records and address data for 12,609 nursing homes in the United States linked with resident assessment data. Our primary exposure of interest was severe economic deprivation at the census block group (neighborhood) level, defined as an area deprivation index score ≥85/100.
— LTCFocus, August 08, 2022
