AARP on nursing home staffing bill: It misses the mark By Susan Arbetter New York State UPDATED 5:41 PM ET May. 04, 2021 PUBLISHED 2:47 PM ET May. 04, 2021 PUBLISHED 2:47 PM EDT May. 04, 2021
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Last month, a provision passed in the state budget that requires nursing homes to use at least 70% of their total revenues on direct patient care, and of that 70%, almost half, 40%, now needs to be used for staffing.
Tuesday, the legislature took another step to protect seniors. Both houses passed a Rivera/Gunther bill (S.6346/A.7119) requiring nursing homes to have enough staff for each resident to receive at least three and a half hours of direct care each day.
New York lawmakers passed legislation Tuesday that establishes minimum staffing levels for hospitals and nursing homes, asserting understaffing practices at some facilities contributed to COVID-19 infections and deaths.
The health care staffing bills, which have been debated in various forms over the past decade, were approved by both houses of the Legislature Tuesday afternoon. During a press conference earlier in the day, health care union leaders and lawmakers urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign the bills, if passed.
One bill establishes minimum staffing hours per resident and related provisions for nursing home care statewide. It comes after more than 13,000 New Yorkers died from COVID-19 complications in the long-term care facilities.
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CNHI PhotoPatricia Castillo, in her Niagara Falls, NY home, shares a photo of her parents. Her mother, Ruth Sandonato, died from a COVID-19 infection at Newfane Rehab & Health Care Center in May 2020.
Patricia Castillo
Ruth Sandonato
CNHI PhotoPatricia Castillo holds up a family photo, with her mother, Ruth Sandonato, center. Sandonato died from a COVID-19 infection but questions remain about her nursing facilityâs oversight and care. breaking editor s pick topical enterprise featured popular top story Unwatched: More than half of U.S. nursing homes overdue for certification inspections
By Whitney Downard CNHI News Service May 1, 2021 1 of 4
CNHI PhotoPatricia Castillo, in her Niagara Falls, NY home, shares a photo of her parents. Her mother, Ruth Sandonato, died from a COVID-19 infection at Newfane Rehab & Health Care Center in May 2020.
The video is difficult to watch.
Sophie, an 88-year-old cancer survivor and great grandmother, screams out in pain as doctors remove portions of her scalp.
The procedure, known as debridement, was necessary because of an infection during her stay as a resident at Addison Pointe, a nursing home in Chesterton. Her family, who asked their last name be withheld to protect Sophie s privacy, recorded the video and provided a copy to IndyStar. She doesn t even want to look in a mirror anymore, her son, Ron, said of his mother, who has Alzheimer s. Then she forgets how she looks and then she looks and she s like, What the hell happened to me?
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