How many Hands?

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HOW MANY HANDS?

are caring for your loved ones in a nursing home? Not enough!

I am lobbying for KENTUCKY legislation to pass for nursing home minimum wage staffing reform. This is a serious problem - the nursing homes are desperately understaffed! One NURSE simply cannot provide adequate care to 50-60 patients. One CNA simply cannot give adequate care to 30-40 people. Nursing home residents are suffering daily from lack of staffing. Please - add your voice - AND YOUR VOTE - to mine! Let`s give our elderly the care they need and deserve!

Vote YES for minimum staffing standard reform in Kentucky!

The general public is unaware of how poorly the state of Kentucky nursing homes are staffed. They believe that the N/H`s have adequate staffing to meet the patients` needs. Below is an excerpt of a report of the guidelines of the NCCNHR-approved federal staffing standards:

Adequate numbers of well-trained, well-supervised staff are critical to quality in long term care. The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-203) promised each nursing home resident that s/he had the right to expect care and services from the nursing home which would allow him/her to "attain or maintain his/her highest practicable level of physical, mental, and psychosocial functioning." Unfortunately, however, Congress did not go that extra step and require a specific minimum caregiver/resident ratio or a minimum standard setting out the number of hours per patient day that a resident should be receiving care.

In 1990, Congress did require the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study and report to Congress by January 1, 1992 on the appropriateness of establishing minimum supervisor to caregiver to resident ratios and provide recommendations on such ratios. Only now, in 1999, is that report being completed. The Department of Health and Human Services expects such a report and recommendation to be submitted to Congress in 2000.

Until the federal report was completed, the role of setting specific standards was left to the States to develop and implement. Most states have a specific minimum standard in state law, regulation, or policy. None of those state standards, however, meet the Consumer Minimum Staffing Standard - a standard developed by nursing professionals with long term care expertise and adopted by the membership of the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (in 1995 and an updated version in 1998). The Consumer Minimum Staffing Standard requires, at the very least:

FOR EVERY NURSING FACILITY:

A full-time RN Director of Nursing

A full-time RN Assistant Director of Nursing (in facilities of 100 beds or more)

A full-time RN Director of In-service Education

An RN nursing supervisor on duty at all times (24 hours, 7 days per week)

Direct caregivers (RN, LPN, LVN, or CNA)

Day 1:5 residents

Evening 1:10 residents

Night 1:15 residents

PLUS

Licensed nurses (RN, LPN, or LVN)

Day 1:15 residents

Evening 1:20 residents

Night 1:30 residents

PLEASE! DO YOUR PART AND VOTE THIS INTO LAW!

EMAIL

[email protected]

MINIMUM STAFFING REFORM

NCCNHR

KATHY STEIN - KENTUCKY STATE LEGISLATURE

AARP