- Low Staffing Levels
Nursing homes and long-term care centers have struggled as of late to maintain their staffing levels to qualify for federal and state funding. Because of the low wages for certified nurse assistants (CNA) and registered nurses (RN), it is difficult to slow down the high turn over rates of the industry. Record low unemployment rates have driven other workers to higher wage industries. Nursing home companies are working hard to find the balance between raising wages while maintaining a profit in an extremely low-profit industry. (See Source).
-Elderly Abuse
Low staffing has lead to lowering standards in the highering process which lead to an increase in abuse cases. One of the biggest struggles for administration in these facilities is creating detailed training programs and incentives to continually increase the quality of care. One way nursing home administrators prevent abuse is through detailed documentation of cases to enhance clear communication between the facility's staff and state surveyors. (See Source).
-Changes in Arbitration Clauses
Before November of 2016 patients who entered Skilled Nursing facilities were forced to sign an arbitration agreement upon arrival. Which means any dispute had to be settled with a mediator before going to court. This restricted the patient's ability to voice their concerns about the treatment they received in the facility. Now, arbitration is optional and can be signed after admission if an issue comes up. This gives the patient more legal freedom when communicating their concern and receiving justice. (See Source).
All of these issues are heavily influenced by federal and state funding, as facilities receive the majority of their reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. Based on my exposure to the industry over the years I have seen serious inefficiencies in the processes that provide funding. Skilled Nursing care has improved dramatically since its beginnings, but there is still a lot of potential solutions to provide better care that will save both the federal government and taxpayers billions of dollars.
Has there always been issues with low staffing, or is this a more recent development? Why do you think this gap is happening now and what could be done to fix it? Do you know if they are looking into robotic care to help fill this need?
ReplyDeleteAutomation is very difficult in this industry and I haven't seen it on the horizon. This type of sub-acute care desperately needs the human interaction. As far as the labor shortage I essentially blame it on low wages and lack of mobility. That is something that I really want to work on when I get into the industry.
DeleteThat is a good question. Medicare covers 100% of the first twenty days of the skilled nursing care. That covers majority of nursing home rehab stays. For long term care Medicaid covers the stay after taking majority of the patient's social security check. So for long term they pay for majority of it. One solution that would improve the care would be to give tax free status to companies in the healthcare industry. Then give a mandatory percentage of profit that companies would use towards quality of care. There is a lot more attention to detail that would need to be taken, but that is one solution.
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