Under Federal Regulations nursing homes are required to provide sufficient staffing to meet the total care needs of their residents.
Voices for Quality Care, a non-profit advocacy ground for nursing home residents, has conducted a recent analysis to evaluate staffing levels in some 217 of Maryland’s 225 skilled nursing facilities based on payroll records for the last quarter of 2017. Their findings indicate that most nursing homes in Maryland fall far below this benchmark, although some show signs of improvement. Click here to review the article. To review the underlying data click here.
Studies suggest that to receive good care at a nursing home, staffing levels should be above 4.1 hours of resident care per day. Most Maryland nursing homes are far below this benchmark and many others suffer from significant staffing shortfalls on weekends. Facilities under 2.0 hours per patient could be putting their residents at risk depending on the level of care they require. The higher the level of patient acuity (level of sickness), the more the resident is placed at risk by inadequate staffing levels.
For more information about nursing home staffing, contact the Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey
Phone: 703-564-7318