For Immediate Release
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
Nation's Largest Public Employee Union Calls for Corrective Action on Substandard Staffing Levels in Nursing Homes
WASHINGTON, DC. —American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees President Gerald W. McEntee today issued the following statement in response to the findings of a report in Sunday's New York Times showing that most nursing homes are understaffed to the point that residents may be endangered. "AFSCME's front line nursing home workers have known for years that staffing is the most important component in providing quality care. We hope that the federal government will now find ways to ensure that long-term care facilities are staffed at safe levels," McEntee said.
The report, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was mandated by Congress in 1990. Because of delays and pressure from advocacy groups to expand the scope of the research, it was not completed until now. AFSCME successfully argued that the report's validity would be questioned if direct care workers were excluded from participation in the study; as a result the researchers held focus groups with certified nursing assistants from 1199C/NUCCHE and students at the 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund CNA program.
According to the report, nursing homes with a low ratio of employees to patients are significantly more likely to have quality of care problems, and substantial increases in staff may be required to ensure that homes do not endanger the safety or health of residents.
The report recommends that the federal government set nursing home staffing standards. The recommendations include that nursing homes have enough registered nurses to provide at least 12 minutes a day of care to each resident, on average and enough nurse aides to provide an average of two hours of care each day. Currently 54 percent of nursing homes do not meet the nurses aide standard and 31 percent do not meet the registered nurses standard.
The study found that staffing levels were much higher at nonprofit nursing homes than at for-profit homes. "This confirms that residents suffer when profits are put before people. When for-profit healthcare moves in, wages are cut and staffing levels are reduced to improve the bottom line," said President McEntee.
