The Math Doesn’t Work: Nursing Home Staffing Woes Unsolvable Without Immigration Action

As nursing home operators scramble to recruit direct care workers during a historic staffing shortage, many in the sector believe there is one obvious solution that has yet to gain meaningful traction, in part due to legislative gridlock: immigration.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has honed in on minimum staffing ratios, and is incorporating staffing data into surveys as well as the five-star rating system. Such initiatives come at a time when the sector is operating with 14% less of its pre-pandemic workforce, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Providers have taken it into their own hands to bring direct care workers in from overseas, with little success.