Hey all! I am an aide at a 64 bed LTC facility in the midwest. We are severely understaffed -- and have been for quite some time. The majority of the aides have one foot out the door and are looking for work elsewhere. Today I worked what is supposed to be a two-aide floor with 18-residents by myself (on day shift), and this is not unusual. You can imagine what happens to patient care... I am a good aide and do my best but I know for a fact that my residents did not get the time, attention, or care that they deserve. It makes me sick to know that we are taking care of human beings, but our admin cares more about the dollar signs than they do about getting more help (they refuse to hire temps, but they do pay "premiums" for when we work short -- I suppose I should be happy about that extra .50 an hour I was paid today).
So my question is this: Where do I go to find state policies about LTC staffing ratios? I didn't see anything on my BON website. Maybe I'm typing in the wrong google terms, but I didn't find anything there either. Any advice?