After years and years of advocating for a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) which would implement the long-desired minimum staffing requirement.
Consumer Voice notes that while the standard is certainly appreciated, it must be made stronger so that ALL, not just some, nursing residents receive the best quality of care. With that said Consumer Voice suggests that within the next two years, there should be a higher minimum of hours of total licensed nurse care. By raising the minimum standard, direct care for patients can be addressed.
Consumer Voice agrees with CMS’s proposed Medicaid transparency provisions, enhancements to the facility assessment requirements, and the requirement to ensure that at least one registered nurse is on staff 24 hours per day. However, Consumer Voice still feels that the staffing standard doesn’t go far enough for nursing home safety, protection, and care. If you agree with Consumer Voice, visit their website to submit a comment to CMS about strengthening this rule.
This rule is certainly a step in the right direction for nursing homes. We must continue to advocate for higher staffing levels. Nursing homes are to provide the best quality of care for residents and higher staffing levels will most definitely aid in doing so.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse, mistreatment, or neglect, contact Dougherty Leventhal and Price today. We are here to fight for you! Remember… Injury? Call DLP. (570) C-A-L-L-D-L-P.
Source: “Submit Comments on the Proposed Minimum Staffing Standard in Nursing Homes.” The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, act.theconsumervoice.org/site/MessageViewer?dlv_id=16461&em_id=13664.0. Accessed 27 Sept. 2023.
