Experts recommend minimum nurse staffing standards for U.S. nursing homes

2000 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Nurse Staffing

scholarly journals Nurse Staffing and Coronavirus Infections in California Nursing Homes

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 174-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlene Harrington ◽  
Leslie Ross ◽  
Susan Chapman ◽  
Elizabeth Halifax ◽  
Bruce Spurlock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Nurse Staffing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Staffing Levels ◽  
Control Procedures ◽  
Relationship Of

In the United States, 1.4 million nursing home residents have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with at least 25,923 resident and 449 staff deaths reported from the virus by June 1, 2020. The majority of residents have chronic illnesses and conditions and are vulnerable to infections and many share rooms and have congregate meals. There was evidence of inadequate registered nurse (RN) staffing levels and infection control procedures in many nursing homes prior to the outbreak of the virus. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of nurse staffing in California nursing homes and compare homes with and without COVID-19 residents. Study data were from both the California and Los Angeles Departments of Public Health and as well as news organizations on nursing homes reporting COVID-19 infections between March and May 4, 2020. Results indicate that nursing homes with total RN staffing levels under the recommended minimum standard (0.75 hours per resident day) had a two times greater probability of having COVID-19 resident infections. Nursing homes with lower Medicare five-star ratings on total nurse and RN staffing levels (adjusted for acuity), higher total health deficiencies, and more beds had a higher probability of having COVID-19 residents. Nursing homes with low RN and total staffing levels appear to leave residents vulnerable to COVID-19 infections. Establishing minimum staffing standards at the federal and state levels could prevent this in the future.

Does Investor-Ownership of Nursing Homes Compromise the Quality of Care?

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlene Harrington ◽  
Steffie Woolhandler ◽  
Joseph Mullan ◽  
Helen Carrillo ◽  
David U. Himmelstein
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Skilled Nursing Facility ◽  
Nurse Staffing ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Nursing Facilities ◽  
Skilled Nursing ◽  
Staffing Ratios ◽  
The Impact

Quality problems have long plagued the nursing home industry. While two-thirds of U.S. nursing homes are investor-owned, few studies have examined the impact of investor-ownership on the quality of care. The authors analyzed 1998 data from inspections of 13,693 nursing facilities representing virtually all U.S. nursing homes. They grouped deficiency citations issued by inspectors into three categories (“quality of care,” “quality of life,” and “other”) and compared deficiency rates in investor-owned, nonprofit, and public nursing homes. A multivariate model was used to control for case mix, percentage of residents covered by Medicaid, whether the facility was hospital-based, whether it was a skilled nursing facility for Medicare only, chain ownership, and location by state. The study also assessed nurse staffing. The authors found that investor-owned nursing homes provide worse care and less nursing care than nonprofit or public homes. Investor-owned facilities averaged 5.89 deficiencies per home, 46.5 percent higher than nonprofit and 43.0 percent higher than public facilities, and also had more of each category of deficiency. In the multivariate analysis, investor-ownership predicted 0.679 additional deficiencies per home; chain-ownership predicted an additional 0.633 deficiencies per home. Nurse staffing ratios were markedly lower at investor-owned homes.

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