Gray Panthers NYC is getting reports from advocates in the nursing home industry that as Congress is negotiating an end-of-the-year deal, that nursing home minimum staffing standards are at risk. Namely, members of Congress are proposing to either rescind or delay minimum staffing standards as part of the deal.
We should remember that nursing homes with higher staffing levels were associated with fewer deaths in their facilities during the pandemic. And facilities that reported staffing shortages reported higher death rates, from both COVID-19 and non-COVID causes, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given this evidence, our politicians should be seeking to have minimum staffing standards, rather than rescind or delay them. It is one way of making sure our long-term care facilities are not caught flat-footed in the event of another epidemic or pandemic. And it is a way to make sure that we protect nursing home residents, as well.
Furthermore, advocates estimate that such staffing standards would save an estimated 13,000 lives each year. To put this into context, all it takes is eight years of this rule, and we’ll end up saving more lives than there are people in Albany, New York.
Because of all this, staffing standards should not be the subject of shady backroom deals.
Contact your member of Congress and tell them to not rescind or delay minimum staffing standards! All you need to do is take two minutes to send a message to your member of Congress!
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