‘Tone deaf’: Posting of more staffing and turnover data starts

Nursing home staff turnover rates and weekend staffing levels can now be viewed publicly on the Care Compare website, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Wednesday.

The decision, though well-intentioned, could not have come at a worst time for many nursing homes who are already struggling with severe staffing shortages exacerbated by the pandemic, many provider advocates say.

“While we support transparency and agree that staffing hours and turnover metrics are important, more reporting will not solve this issue,” the American Health Care Association said in a statement Wednesday. “The addition of these metrics on Care Compare when we are in the middle of the worst labor shortage the nursing home sector has ever faced is tone deaf.”