The Department of Health, the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and consumer advocacy groups joined caregivers in celebrating the July 1st start of new regulations.

 

STATEWIDE, PA — On Friday morning, union nursing home workers were joined by Department of Health Deputy Secretary for Quality Assurance Jeanne Parisi, LTC Ombudsman Office Program Manager Becky Fortenbaugh, and CARIE (Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of Elders) Executive Director Whitney Lingle to virtually celebrate the kick-off of new staffing ratios (recording here). The ratios are designed to improve care for residents and seniors and go into effect in Pennsylvania skilled nursing facilities on July 1st.

The new regulations, passed by the Wolf Administration in 2022, are the first in the Commonwealth’s history to require a minimum number of nursing home caregivers per shift.

“I was so excited to hear about the new CNA ratios because staffing ratios mean quality care for my residents,” said Liz Wright, a certified nursing assistant for 30 years in the Harrisburg area. “Residents usually get 15 minutes with us. Bathing is more of a bird bath. It gets to the residents – they are irritated, frustrated, and upset that we’re rushing them. This is supposed to be their home, and you shouldn’t have to rush in your own home.”

The ratios were the result of advocacy by caregivers and consumer groups citing research that exposed the link between staffing levels and COVID outbreaks and deaths. Starting July 1st, the new rules stipulate for certified nursing assistants (CNAs): 1 CNA per 12 residents on day and evening shifts, and 1 CNA per 20 residents on night shift. For licensed practical nurses (LPNs), ratios are: 1 LPN per 25 residents on day shift, 1 LPN per 30 residents on evening shift, and 1 LPN per 40 residents on night shift.

“CARIE strongly supports safe staffing and proper ratios of nursing staff in nursing facilities. Quality care starts with sufficient staffing,” said Whitney Lingle, Executive Director of CARIE, the consumer advocacy group that helped push for the new regulations in Pennsylvania – the first updates in decades. “We need nursing home ownership and financial transparency to ensure fiscal responsibility with public funds and that nursing-home residents get the required care.”

The enactment of new ratios in Pennsylvania comes as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to roll out changes to national staffing rules for nursing homes. Caregivers say that staffing standards are key to reducing stress and burnout, factors exacerbated by the pandemic and contributing to workers fleeing the bedside.

Union workers also expressed eagerness to work with employers and public officials to attract more caregivers to the industry and meet the new regulations.

“When we make these nursing jobs good union ones with competitive pay and benefits, I know that more nurses will join or come back to this field,” said Lindsey Burns, a licensed practical nurse from a New Castle nursing home. “My friend just left her agency position to come back in house after she heard about our new contract’s pay increases and benefits.”

“Every family deserves to have safe, dignified, and reliable options for long term care,” said Matthew Yarnell, President of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. “We want to partner with everyone who’s invested in resident care so we can lead the country in addressing the care crisis. By working together to achieve these ratios, we’re going to bring this industry back closer to what it’s always been about – quality care for our residents.”

 

SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania is the state’s largest and fastest-growing union of nurses and healthcare workers, uniting tens of thousands of professional and technical employees, direct care workers, and service employees in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home- and community-based services, and state facilities across the Commonwealth. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania members are committed to improving the lives of health care workers and ensuring quality care and healthy communities for all Pennsylvanians. 

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Emily Dong