NEW: RI Nursing Home Workers Charge That They Are Not Getting Support from State and Industry
Thursday, April 09, 2020
“A staffing shortage crisis is putting our residents at risk [at nursing homes],” said Adanjesus Marin, Coordinator of Raise the Bar on Resident Care, on Thursday.
The group issued a comprehensive report, via a Zoom press conference, on the state of nursing home staffing in Rhode Island.
“Beyond the Bottom Line: A Call for Increased Investment in Rhode Island Nursing Homes,” calls on the industry to reinvest its hundreds of millions in profits back in frontline care amid the coronavirus emergency, refuting claims they cannot afford needed safe staffing measures, personal protective equipment, training, and wage increases.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRhode Island has the 42nd lowest staffing in America, according to the organization. In addition, the group says, “Rhode Island is the only state in New England without minimum staffing regulations."
“Our new report shows without a shadow of doubt that Rhode Island’s nursing home industry is tremendously profitable and needs to use those resources to solve the staffing crisis made worse by the coronavirus epidemic,” said Marin. “No time is more urgent than now to pass the Nursing Home Staffing & Quality Care Act to ensure there are enough caregivers to staff nursing homes during this emergency.”
The report claims:
- Rhode Island’s nursing homes made $241,947,235 in total profit In 2017 & 2018 alone. In addition, the 30 nursing homes that on average provided residents with the fewest hours of care made over $100,000,000 in profit during this same two-year period.
- Rhode Island has the lowest average number of care hours per nursing home resident per day in all of New England, and also ranks 42nd in the nation for average total hours of care.
- Infection control violations are significantly more common in short-staffed facilities, with 65% of homes receiving only one-star ratings from CMS for staffing having infection control violations (compared to 53% of five-star homes).
- Several of Rhode Island’s nursing homes that are staffing close to or above the 4.1 standard are profitable. The Elmhurst Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, for example, averages 3.76 hours of care per resident per day and earned combined profits of $12,704,979 in 2017 and 2018.
“Even before the coronavirus hit, short staffing was a problem at my facility with CNAs responsible for 10 residents each. Now, because caregivers are afraid and are leaving, 2-3 CNAs can be responsible for 39 residents for the whole day,” said Aletha Browne, a ward clerk/med tech at Pawtucket Skilled Nursing and Rehab. “We need clear communication from management, more than one mask every three days and better wages to prevent more caregivers from leaving.”
The majority of deaths from the coronavirus are tied to nursing homes. And, one-third of those who tested positive thru Tuesday were healthcare workers.
In Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan announced the creation of Strike Teams for nursing homes. Governor Hogan announced the formation of statewide strike teams, the first such effort in the nation, to provide support to nursing home facilities. The teams will be composed of members of the National Guard, representatives of local and state health departments, and EMS clinicians, as well as doctors and nurses from local hospital systems. These strike teams will be activated in response to requests from nursing homes, local health departments, and Maryland Department of Health (MDH) infectious disease experts. There will be three types of teams:
- Testing teams, to identify those in close contact with a confirmed case, and collect and send out specimens for the fastest test available.
- Assistance teams, to quickly assess the situation on-site, determine equipment and supply needs, and triage residents.
- Clinical teams, which will include doctors, nurse practitioners, and registered nurses from major hospital systems, tasked with providing on-site medical triage and stabilizing residents.
Those on the Zoom press conference called for immediate passage of The Nursing Home Staffing & Quality Care Act (Senate Bill 2519: Senator Maryellen Goodwin and House Bill 7624: Representative Scott Slater) that will:
- Establish a minimum standard of 4.1 hours of resident care per day, the federal recommendation for quality care
- Secure funding to raise wages to recruit and retain a stable, qualified workforce
- Invest in needed training and skills enhancement for caregivers to provide care for patients with increasing acuity and complex healthcare needs.
“During this pandemic, CNA’s and frontline caregivers are all our vulnerable seniors in nursing homes have. These frontline caregivers are heroes and we should honor them by enacting policies that help this special group of workers,” said Representative Scott Slater, “I am not sure when the General Assembly will be back in session but this is the year we have to address our worsening staffing crisis in nursing homes.”
