Rhode Island Delays Enforcement of Law to Increase Staffing in Nursing Homes
In Rhode Island, Gov. Dan McKee recently signed an executive order to halt the enforcement of the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act, which he signed into law last May to give nursing homes across the state a higher staff-to-patient ratio.
The Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act establishes a minimum standard of 3.58 hours of resident care per day to be enforced by Jan. 1, 2022 and 3.81 hours of resident care per day beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
The bill also provides funding to raise the wages for direct care staff to help recruit and retain a stable workforce.
The law was initially set to go into effect on Jan. 1 but the executive order from McKee will delay enforcement of the law until Feb. 14 due to surges from the omicron variant that have put resident care into a greater crisis.
Data from the Rhode Island Health Care Association and the LeadingAge survey of 77 nursing homes in the state shows there are 1,920 open staff positions in nursing facilities throughout the state, and to comply with the mandate would mean hiring nearly 2,500 new workers.
At the federal level, a bill presented by the Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., along with other senators, also aims to improve staffing standards for nursing homes through the Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act.
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