For Immediate Release
Friday, March 22, 2002
Bush Administration Ignores Own Findings on Nursing Home Crisis
CMS Study Says Nine out of Ten Facilities Lack Staff to Provide Quality Care
WASHINGTON —Nine in ten nursing homes nationwide lack enough staff to provide proper care for their residents, according to a study released by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Despite clear evidence of nearly universal inadequate staffing, the Bush administration ignores the study's findings and offers little to end the crisis of substandard care, according to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO.
The government study found that 91 percent of all nursing homes do not have enough certified nursing assistants (CNAs) on duty to provide the minimum hours of daily direct care per resident needed. In concluding that quality problems occur below this minimum threshold, the report echoes previous studies and recommendations from geriatric experts, resident advocates, and AFSCME, which represents 40,000 nursing home employees in 22 states.
"This study backs up what our members who work on the front lines caring for nursing home residents have been saying for years -- quality care cannot be provided if there are not enough properly trained nursing staff," said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee.
The administration's response is inadequate to addressing the widespread quality problems that this report confirms. Rather than proposals to address the startling fact that nine in ten nursing homes have insufficient staff to provide proper care, the administration reiterates plans for a pilot project to improve the availability to consumers of quality information about nursing homes. Such a project falls short. We doubt whether consumers will find great comfort knowing that they have no choice but to place a loved one in a nursing home that is unable to provide good care.
The letter accompanying the report from Secretary Tommy Thompson to the Congress notes that the study did not fully address how other factors affect quality of care. The Administration suggests that better management techniques may improve quality. Yet with regard to inadequate minimum staffing levels the report states that, "there appears to be little facilities can do to mitigate quality problems." Clearly, the establishment of federal standards is a necessary component to protecting nursing home residents from substandard care.
Other important findings in the CMS report include:
- Ninety-seven percent of nursing homes had insufficient staff in at least two out of these three categories: CNAs, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses.
- Forty percent of all nursing homes would need to increase nurse assistant staffing by 50 percent or more to meet the minimum threshold.
- Establishing minimum staffing ratios would increase costs by $7 billion or 8 percent, a level the study called "substantial but not so high to preclude feasibility."
A bipartisan study released last month by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) for the period October 2000 through 2001 alone, showed that more than 25,000 violations were found but not even reported on the government's "Nursing Home Compare" web site.
AFSCME has endorsed congressional legislation that would promote minimum staffing standards and improve training, including the "Nursing Home Quality Protection Act," introduced by Rep. Waxman and the "Quality Care for Nursing Home Patients Act," introduced by Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL).
