AARP, not usually a friend of the skilled nursing sector, thinks that nurses on duty 24/7 will solve the quality of care problems.
In case you are not a member of AARP, like I am, the cover story in their November Bulletin was called, “How Safe Are Our Nursing Homes?”
The story did an overview of the skilled nursing industry, including some of the recent rule changes. But it highlighted what didn’t change, such as not addressing the need for staffing increases. The article blamed staffing, or the shortage of staffing, for most of the woes confronting the skilled nursing sector. The solution? Mandate having at least one nurse on staff 27/7.
Great idea, but 1) where are you going to find more staffing, and (2) who is going to pay for it? As is typical with AARP, they don’t want to get into these messy little details. And therein lies the problem. If the funding is not there in a Medicaid program that is fiscally unsustainable, how are providers going to increase staffing, if they can even find staff? On top of this, all one has to do is look at the financial crisis facing many SNF providers as lengths of stay and daily rates are cut by Medicare Advantage plans. AARP concluded that the industry must evolve to thrive, but I would say the payment system needs to evolve for SNFs to thrive.
