In response to a report commissioned by the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH), state legislators passed four new bills in August that were signed into law by the Governor in September. The aim of the laws is to strengthen and improve nursing homes’ capabilities to contend with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The bills increased the minimum hourly wage of $11 for nursing home care staff to at least $14 and mandated that 90% of revenues be used to provide quality care for residents rather than for profits and administrative salaries.
The NJDOH report found that “COVID-19 didn’t create the problem – it exacerbated the long-standing, underlying systemic issues affecting nursing home care in New Jersey.”
The following were the critical themes noted in the report:
- Nursing homes were largely underprepared for the threat of a widespread infection and under-resourced due to long-standing staffing shortages or low staffing ratios.
- Bidirectional communications between nursing homes and DOH needed improvement.
- Most nursing homes do not have strong communications and consult relationships and protocols with emergency departments and hospitals.
- Under-resourced state agencies had insufficient staff to deploy to facilities and conduct meaningful oversight prior to COVID-19.
- New Jersey’s LTC industry and its regulatory agencies were not equipped with the technological systems or the practiced processes to rapidly collect and share data in support of the state’s public health response.
The report can be viewed at: https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/docs/6-2-2020-NJ%20LTCResilience.pdf.
New York’s State Legislature’s 2021 session is set to begin in January and advocates in that state where an estimated 11,000 nursing home residents died from COVID-19 are hoping for similar responses by their legislators.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Failure to ensure that adequate resources are available to provide required staffing needed to meet residents’ acuity care levels during a pandemic like COVID-19, and failure to have an Infection Prevention and Control Program that is capable of responding to the magnitude caused by the Coronavirus may place residents in jeopardy for harm and be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures regarding the level of resources needed to maintain staffing levels and an effective Infection Prevention and Control Program.
- Train staff on the protocols for infection prevention and control, including hand hygiene and proper wearing and disposal of personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Periodically audit to determine if resources are allocated to maintain an adequate supply of PPE and to ensure necessary staffing levels, especially in crisis situations like COVID-19. Also audit to ensure that staff are competent in following the facility’s Infection Prevention and Control Program protocols.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC view: HAND HYGIENE GUIDELINES FOR HEALTHCARE SETTINGS and RECRUITING NEW EMPLOYEES – PAVING THE ROAD TO OBTAINING COMPETENT STAFF.
