The main purpose of a nursing home is to ensure that elderly and disabled residents have access to the assistance they may need around the clock. So, it may surprise you to learn that many nursing homes and other residential care facilities are chronically understaffed. Understaffing creates a wide range of problems, including:
- Longer delays in responding to resident needs
- Less time per resident, which can lead to rushed processes that put residents at risk or cause staff to overlook important warning signs such as early stage bedsores
- Greater stress on staff, which can lead to poor treatment of residents, poor job performance, and even abuse of residents
- High staff turnover due to stress and job dissatisfaction, meaning more staff members in early stages of training and unfamiliar with residents
To provide optimal care for nursing home residents, a facility needs to meet two measures: a minimum number of staff hours per resident, and minimums for specific types of staff. In addition, of course, those staff members must be well-qualified and well-trained for the roles they are filling.
Why Do Nursing Home Staff Shortages Happen?
Every business experiences staff shortages now and then. Sometimes a couple of employees leave at the same time, leaving the rest of the staff struggling to fill the gaps until they’re replaced. Sometimes multiple people are out sick at the same time. Those are not the staffing shortages under discussion here.
Multiple studies, including one widely-cited report from Medicare and a more recent study published in the Delaware Journal of Public health, have revealed that a significant percentage of long-term care facilities nationwide are chronically understaffed. Part of the problem is a long-term nursing shortage, which was further aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. By March of 2022, more than 400,000 employees of long-term care facilities had left the industry, with nursing homes hit hardest.
Understaffing Saves Nursing Homes Money
Another consideration that often plays a role is cost. To staff the recommended hours per resident per day (HPRD) of staff time is expensive–even more so when you factor in the percentage of time that should be staffed by more highly-skilled professionals. So, on top of being short on overall care hours, many facilities also short high-skill roles like RNs in favor of LPNs and CNAs.
Those lower-skilled employees are easier to find and hire than RNs, and they’re cheaper to staff. According to ZipRecruiter, the average pay rates for South Carolina nursing home staff are:
- RNs – $84,383/year ($41/hour)
- LPNs – $57,663/year ($28/hour)
- CNAs – $34,590/year ($19/hour)
It’s not hard to see how much money a nursing home can save by replacing hours that should go to an RN with LPN or CNA hours. But, of course, LPNs and CNAs don’t have the qualifications of RNs and may not be able to provide the care residents need or recognize signs or medical issues in residents.
New Nursing Home Staffing Standards
Under rules created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, nursing homes should be providing 3.48 hours of care per resident per day, which should include:
- At least .55 hours of RN care
- At least 2.45 hours of nurse’s aide care
- Any combination of RN, LPN, LVN and nurse’s aid care for the remainder of required hours
In addition, facilities are required to have an RN on site at all times.
Understaffing Puts Patients at Risk
Inadequate staffing or inadequate staffing at the skilled nursing level can put nursing home residents at risk. If your loved one was injured or developed medical problems as a result of nursing home neglect, understaffing may have played a role. For example, if your family member developed bedsores that were left untreated or fell attempting to get out of bed alone after a call light went unanswered, understaffing may have played a role.
To learn more about how you may be able to pursue compensation for a family member that fell victim to substandard care due to staff shortages or other conditions in a nursing home, schedule a free consultation with Frank Hartman. Just call 843-300-7600 right now, or fill out our contact form.