Wolf Administration officials shared proposed nursing home regulations focused on increasing the quality of care received by residents by increasing the minimum direct care hours by 1.4 more hours each day. The current skilled nursing facility regulations have not been updated since 1999. “Revising nursing home regulations is one piece of the administration’s ongoing effort to improve care for residents and working conditions for staff in nursing homes,” said Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam, during a news conference at Homeland Center in Harrisburg. Beam, who was joined by leaders of four cabinet agencies as well as a nursing home worker and resident, noted this is the first in a series of five packages of proposed regulations that are based on the latest research, input from subject matter experts and industry stakeholders and informed by lessons learned during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
