good intentions????

Published

Someone please correct me if IM wrong but it seems to me that if

OBRA intentions was to improve the quality of life for residents

then shouldn't they have put a limit on the ratio of residents to CNA's ?

(and if there is one, please let me know where I can go to get that information)(Texas)

I was reading a post about a CNA that was expected to take care of 30 residents.

ARE you serious? Am I missing something here? Can someone please tell me that

there is a rule of how many residents a CNA can handle on a shift.

1. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1987 is a

federal law that regulates nursing facilities and nurse aide

training in facilities.

2. The intent of OBRA is to improve the quality of life for

residents in nursing facilities.

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The Poster responded by saying there were 32 residence per hall with 2 CNAs working the hall. So it is more like 15 to 16 per CNA. Still a really high amount of residence for 1st shift, but it is not unheard of.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiology..

I work swing shift. One person is upstairs caregiving and one is downstairs caregiving with a med aid per floor. In the middle of the shift there's a float CNA who comes in and does the laundry and showers. There's 32 residents upstairs and 28 residents downstairs. Half of the residents need care and assistance while the other half is completely independent but would still call for things now and then like for a pain pill.

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Specializes in Short Term/Skilled.

Only 8 states have laws regarding ratios, and TX isn't one of them.

Unfortunately insane ratios like that do happen. Thankfully that only happened to me when there were many call outs or something of that nature.

You just do the best you can with what you have. Go from room to room and you get there when you get there. Handle emergencies as they come up. Not ideal, but it happens.

LTC is always always always understaffed. Part of the reason for this is the low pay and back breaking work for the CNA's. If facilities paid better more people would show up for work and or peruse it in the first place.

The only reason I do it is because I want to become a RN and this is a stepping stone. Also, I love it. I have broken bones and dislocated joints over the insane workload.

Sometimes I wonder if my body will still function by the time I move up.

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