Title: Understaffing in Nursing Homes Leads to Low Standard of Care
Headings: Nursing Home Understaffing Leads to Poor Quality Care and Elder Abuse
Nursing Home Understaffing Leads to Poor Quality Care and Elder Abuse
Why Resident-to-Staff Ratio Is Important
According to Federal data, most nursing homes have fewer staff than they report.
When there is understaffing in nursing homes, essential tasks are neglected, such as:
Hiring Unqualified Staff Puts Residents at Risk
Untrained staff have many shortfalls, including:
Increasing Numbers of Qualified Staff to Raise the Standard of Care
Author:

Content: A caregiver shortage forces staff to prioritize certain duties over others. This often means overlooking responsibilities like preventing infection, controlling accident hazards, maintaining sanitary conditions and improving resident well-being. Understaffing in nursing homes reduces the standard of care and puts residents at risk. On the other hand, studies show that a good ratio of staff to residents increases the quality of care and improves health among residents. Why Resident-to-Staff Ratio Is Important
Nursing homes are staffed on a ratio of residents to staff. Fewer residents to each staff member prevents the care team from becoming overwhelmed. Since Medicare does not require a minimum resident-to-staff ratio, many nursing homes have too few staff and more residents than they can care for. According to Federal data, most nursing homes have fewer staff than they report. Staffing ratios are widely inconsistent from day to day. On short-staffed days, staff often care for twice as many residents as usual.