The Biden administration set a first-ever minimum staffing rule for nursing homes Monday, making good on the president’s promise more than two years ago to seek improvements in care for the nation’s 1.2 million nursing home residents.
While the administration has said the rule will improve care, industry lobbyists have said it’s unworkable, with staffing goals that will be impossible to achieve because of a shortage of workers. The pandemic exacerbated staffing shortages in nursing homes. Poor wages and grueling working conditions put large amounts of stress on a low-wage workforce, which is made up mostly of women, minorities, and immigrants.
The industry has warned that rural facilities may be forced to close if they can’t meet the requirements.