Nursing CE Central
Nursing home staffing incentives are coming into play while at least one attempt to stall the federal nursing home staffing mandate has hit a snag.
Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opened a grant opportunity to help staff facilities throughout the country.
Days later, Skilled Nursing News reported that a U.S. district court judge found the lawsuit brought by 20 states opposing the mandate “failed to demonstrate that a preliminary injunction is necessary.”
The mandate, issued in April 2024, requires long-term care facilities to meet minimum staffing requirements including having a registered nurse (RN) on-site 24/7. At the time of the announcement, CMS stated that adequate staffing is “essential” to provide safe, high-quality care:
“CMS received and considered more than 46,000 public comments on this rule from various stakeholders, including residents and their family members, workers, advocates, and the industry. Many of these comments highlighted how –without sufficient staff – residents do not receive necessary care including baths or trips to the bathroom, and experience preventable safety events, such as pressure ulcers and falls.”
At least three lawsuits have been filed in response, all alleging it violates the Administrative Procedures Act.
The CMS Nursing Home Staffing Campaign (NHSC) will issue awards geared toward recruiting registered nurses to work in a “qualifying home” or in an oversight role at a state agency that conducts surveys at skilled nursing facilities.
The official NHSC section of the CMS website states that RNs can receive “up to $40,000 for tuition reimbursement and/or a $10,000 stipend in return for working three years in a qualifying nursing home or state inspection agency.”
Eligible entities include:
CMS will establish “financial incentive administrators” to oversee distribution of the funds, verifying licensure and work status, and help facilities with hiring.
Facilities and organizations can apply through March 7.
While debates swirl around the federal mandate and lawsuits wind through the court system, some states are making their own staffing issues more widely known. Take Virginia for example.
The Virginia Health Care Association – Virginia Center for Assisted Living (VHCA–VCAL) released a survey at the beginning of January that found nearly all responding facilities (93%) had certified nursing assistant (CNA) vacancies.
“Nursing homes desperately want to hire more caregivers but struggle to find the nurses and nurse aides needed to care for our seniors,” Keith Hare, president and CEO of VHCA-VCAL, stated in a news release.
Other findings include:
A majority of those facilities in the Commonwealth are doing at that state level what CMS is at the federal level — offering incentives like sign-on or retention bonuses, pay increases, and tuition assistance.
Amid the transition of power at the White House, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services appear to be moving forward with plans to execute the federal nursing home staffing mandate. The Nursing Home Staffing Campaign was announced alongside the mandate last spring and has recently started to roll out details about its hiring and retention incentives for facilities.
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