Why the government lets nursing facilities get away with poor staffing

[Jilly_in_VA]

Regulators have allowed thousands of nursing homes across America to flout federal staffing rules by going an entire day and night without a registered nurse on duty, a USA TODAY investigation has found.

Nearly all of them got away with it: Only 4% were cited by government inspectors. Even fewer were fined.

When other nursing home caregivers are added into the equation, one-third of U.S. facilities fell short of multiple benchmarks the federal government has created for nurse and aide staffing.

Low-income residents, disproportionately people of color, fare the worst. Their nursing homes report the lowest staffing levels, but data show they seldom get in trouble because of it.

A USA TODAY investigation has documented, for the first time, how rarely the federal government enforces decades-old staffing guidelines and rules for nursing homes.

Citations and penalties remained sparse even as regulators developed three ways to measure staffing. In the spring, they will propose a fourth approach.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2022/12/01/skilled-nursing-facilities-staffing-problems-biden-reforms/8318780001/

This might be the most depressing article I've read all week. A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable.

[Phoenix61]

1. Yes it is and we suck.

On that note, I’ve slowly become invisible over the years. I’ve talked to friends and they have noticed the same phenomenon. Bartenders, waitstaff, even receptionists seem not to see me. It started in my mid-fifties and shows no signs of slowing. Interestingly, people in other countries seem to have no problem seeing me. No big surprise they are cultures that believe wisdom comes with age.

[Dustlawyer]

2. I had to put my mom in a nursing home while recovering from back surgery.

They were supposed to rehab her, instead they almost killed her. She ended up in ICU and now home with home health care. It was horrible and they were “the best in our area” according to everyone I spoke to.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. My client was a nurse's aide in a nursing home.

She was assigned 10 residents to serve meals, to feed, to clean up, to bathe, to change, to answer emergencies, to give meds, to dress, and more. And expected to avoid “neglecting” any of them at any given time.

Untenable