Why Minimum Standards Are Not the Best Way to Monitor Staffing During Covid Outbreaks

Staff-to-resident ratios in nursing homes were confirmed to be stable or higher than pre-pandemic levels during Covid outbreaks, as declining resident census outpaced reductions in staffing.

Such findings fly in the face of federal efforts to establish a minimum staffing ratio.

A JAMA Health Forum study published on Friday found that facility managers were more likely to report staffing shortages during severe outbreaks, suggesting a per-resident staffing measure may not be the best benchmark for really understanding staffing capacity during outbreaks.