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.

[SergeStorms]

1. Warehouses for the elderly and infirm...

I read an article in my local paper this morning about an elderly woman in a local nursing home who missed getting a critical medication she was supposed to receive for seven days. She died on the seventh day.

Of course with over population and dwindling resources, Soylent Green will probably become a reality before too long.

Is there a solution? Probably not one that won't effect the bottom line, and that's all that matters these days. The outlook isn't good.

[Diamond_Dog]

2. Really makes you look forward to getting old, doesn't it.

[No Vested Interest]

3. Families must be involved with the care of their elderly, whether in their own homes or

in nursing homes.
Make sure the elders have phones to alert families when there is a special need.
Check in daily with the elder when possible; ask questions re their meals, medicine prescribed and given, routine bathing, care of any open sore or wounds.
Get to know the staff, to know what care can be expected of them.
Care of elderly is hard and often difficult work; not all caregivers are suited psychologically for the tasks.
Many do not have the maturity and patience necessary to deal with elders.

[area51]

4. You bring up a good point,

but what about those elderly without families to help them?