Staff to patient ratios are critical in every form of healthcare. When there aren’t enough staff members to adequately care for the number of patients they have during a shift, the patients are often the ones who suffer most. Their hygiene may go neglected, or there might not be anyone to help them eat or move around to prevent bedsores.
Nowhere is this a more glaring problem than in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Keep reading to learn about federal laws regarding nursing home staff ratios, shocking statistics about how many nursing homes actually follow these guidelines, and what our attorneys can do to help if your loved one is being neglected in a nursing home.
Current Federal Guidelines for Nursing Home Staff Ratios
In the summer of 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services made a final ruling that sets minimum federal staffing requirements for nursing homes. According to this law, all long-term care facilities in the U.S. must:
- Have a registered nurse (RN) on site 24 hours per day, 7 days per week with few exceptions.
- Provide at least 3.48 total nurse staffing hours per resident day of care. This means that the total number of hours worked by nurses on the floor divided by the total number of residents cannot be lower than this threshold. This is further divided into 0.55 RN staffing hours and 2.45 nurse assistant hours.
How Many Nursing Homes Abide by This?
In a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), it was discovered that only 1 out of every 5 nursing homes – just 19% – are currently in compliance with the latest federal guidelines on nursing home staffing ratios.
Of this group, only 11% of the facilities in compliance were for-profit nursing homes. 41% of abiding facilities are non-profit, while 39% are government nursing homes like those for Veterans.
Signs of Neglect Due to Low Staffing
Weight Loss
Inadequate nursing home staffing often means that residents who have greater feeding needs do not get the assistance they require for adequate nutrition. There may not be enough nurses or assistants on hand to sit with patients and help them eat or take them down to the cafeteria if they are unable to walk. This can result in sudden or unexplained weight loss that cannot be attributed to a different medical condition.
Read More
Is My Loved One’s Weight Loss From Nursing Home Neglect?
Inadequate Hygiene
When there are not enough staff on hand to feed patients, their hygiene may also suffer. Nurses may not have the time in between administering medication, turning patients who are bed bound, and charting to help patients go to the bathroom or shower. This can cause patient discomfort, odors, skin conditions, and illness.
Bedsores
Patients who are not properly turned or moved can develop bedsores or pressure ulcers where their skin is pressed to the bed for an extended period of time. These are painful open lesions that can get infected and cause serious or even fatal reactions like sepsis. They are completely preventable with adequate care and are a major indication that a patient has been neglected and improperly cared for.
Read More
Dehydration
Like malnutrition, elderly patients are at a higher risk of becoming dehydrated. This is especially true for patients with conditions like dementia, who may forget to drink or have difficulty understanding the feeling of being thirsty. When there are not enough nursing home staff available, there may not be anyone available to help semi-independent patients drink from a cup and those who need IVs may not get them.
Read More
When Dehydration From Nursing Abuse Causes Brain Swelling
How a Nursing Home Neglect Attorney Can Help
Do you suspect that your elderly family member could be the victim of nursing home neglect due to inadequate staffing or something else? When your loved one’s well-being is at stake, we act fast.
Our team of qualified Salem, MA elder abuse attorneys can help you advocate for your loved one’s rights and hold the facility accountable for the harm they caused, so the same thing doesn’t happen to someone else in the future.
Take the first step towards justice for your family and reach out to us today by calling (978) 744-8000 or toll-free at (855) 693-9084. Or, fill out our short online form to schedule your no-cost consultation.
