Proposed Mandatory Staffing for Nursing Homes
The Biden administration in its “Build Back Better” plan has provisions that require nursing homes to have 1 registered nurse on duty at all times. Currently, the law is for a solitary registered nurse to be on duty for only 8 hours every day. The plan will additionally require mandatory minimum staffing without additional compensation.
Not only do we need mandatory minimum staffing in nursing homes, but also in acute care.
However, I am pleased that there is a bill out there to provide care for our most vulnerable citizens. While it has been a long time coming for mandatory staffing in nursing homes, we’ll see if this bill will be able to be passed into law.
The American Health Care Association is the largest for-profit nursing home organization, and it is opposing this bill saying that many, if not all, nursing homes will be going out of business because there are no provisions to give nursing homes more money.
According to salary.com, a nursing home administrator in California can expect an average salary of $134,354. In addition, some nursing home administrators get bonuses based on the amount of money that the facility can save.
This savings bonus puts profits over patients.
Also, nursing homes generally have many layers. There’s usually some kind of corporation that owns the nursing home and yet another corporation owns the building which houses the nursing home and is leased by the nursing home, many times owned by the same people.
It is unfortunate that health care is based on dollars. I believe health care is a right and that everyone should be entitled to the same quality care.
When it comes to long term nursing home care, many of these people have worked their whole lives and then find their way to a nursing home and have contributed to Medicare.
In addition, the Nursing Home Association argues that there are few, if any, registered nurses to be found. However, Michigan is one of the hotspots of COVID and they will be having 44 U.S. military personnel to assist two hospital systems in the Great Lakes State.
It will be interesting to see what happens with these long-term care facilities. I wonder if the military will be brought in for long term care? Probably not because these are older adults, which is unfair. They do deserve quality of care even if these are the last years of their lives.
