Poor Outcomes For Nursing Home Residents Underscore Need For Nurse Staffing Ratios And Stronger Enforcement

Main Category: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 12 Feb 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services publicly identified over 4000 nursing homes - more than 25% of facilities nationwide - whose residents are physically restrained, or have pressure sores, or both, in excessive numbers. This should be a call to action to both Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

"What's needed to avoid pressure ulcers and physical restraints is a sufficient number of well-trained certified nurse assistants, accompanied and supervised by a sufficient number of registered nurses," said Senior Policy Attorney Toby S. Edelman with the Center for Medicare Advocacy. "With CMS reporting that more than 90% of nursing homes do not have sufficient staff to meet residents' needs, it is time for Congress to enact legislation mandating comprehensive and meaningful nurse staffing ratios," continued Edelman. "For its part, CMS needs to take stronger enforcement action whenever it finds facilities short-changing their residents and providing them with less care than they need."

The Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization that provides education, advocacy, and legal assistance to help elders and people with disabilities obtain Medicare and necessary health care. The Center was established in 1986. We focus on the needs of Medicare beneficiaries, people with chronic conditions, and those in need of long-term care. The organization is involved in writing, education, and advocacy activities of importance to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide. The Center's central office is in Connecticut, with offices in Washington, DC and throughout the country.

The Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.