Nursing home staffing levels suffered nearly an eight percent decline from the first to third quarters of 2021, according to an analysis by the Long-Term Community Care Coalition. According to the organization’s findings, US nursing homes had an average of 3.62 total nurse staff hours per resident day and 0.63 Registered Nurse HPRD. Those figures falls notably short of the minimum staffing hour thresholds of 4.10 HPRD and 0.75 HPRD identified by a 2001 federal study, the LTCCC notes.
Nursing home staffing levels fell 7.8% since Q1 2021, according to the data, even as resident census figures increased by 5.1%. “This indicates that too many nursing homes are admitting new residents even when they lack adequate staffing to meet their basic needs,” the LTCCC states. More than two-thirds of nursing homes in the country fell short of the minimum thresholds, while contract staffers “accounted for 7.1% of all nurse staff hours” in the third quarter—an increase of more than 5% since Q1.
In New York specifically, the average total nursing staff HPRD was 3.38 in Q1 2021, while the average RN HPRD was 0.64. At the same time, the resident census in New York was 91,180. These figures give New York in 46th lowest average total nursing staff HPRD and the 35th lowest average RN HPRD. More information on these figures, as well as data for every state in the country, is available via the Long-Term Community Care Coalition. Staffing reports for previous quarters are also available via the LTCCC, as well as data on enforcement actions against nursing homes for issues such as pressure ulcer care, infection control, and drugging.
The attorneys at the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, PLLC work diligently to protect the rights of nursing home residents. Please contact us to discuss in the event you have a potential case involving neglect or abuse.
