ANA Commends CMS’ Newly Established Nurse Staffing Standards for LTC Facilities
CONTACT: NewsRoom@ana.org
Silver Spring, MD – The American Nurses Association (ANA) applauds the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for issuing a final rule that sets minimum nurse staffing standards in long-term care (LTC) facilities across the country. ANA is especially pleased to see CMS include elements that it has long advocated for in the final rule —such as having a registered nurse (RN) onsite 24-hours, seven days a week in all LTC facilities.
“No one wants to send a loved one to an understaffed health care facility, yet despite this, long-term care facilities have been chronically understaffed. Speaking personally, my own grandmother spent the last few months of her life in a nursing home. Despite private care, my mother visited multiple times a day to ensure she had her basic ADLs met and that she was being adequately provided for,” said ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA, FAAN. “The elderly deserve our support through adequate care. For the first time, a minimum staffing requirement for nursing homes has been implemented on a federal level, and we are hopeful that this rule will provide support and resources for overworked nurses in LTC facilities that will only improve the care residents receive.”
In November 2023, ANA submitted letters on the proposed rule— one on behalf of the association and the other in collaboration with 25 state member and organizational affiliates— urging the agency to finalize its proposals and incorporate suggested refinements.
“We are so pleased to see this rule be issued and are especially glad that the agency included ANA’s recommendations to ensure nurse input is included in facility assessments. Without taking the voice of nurses in LTC facilities into account, it is impossible to improve their place of work in a meaningful way,” said ANA Chief Nursing Officer Debbie Hatmaker, PhD, RN, FAAN.
The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on May 10. ANA continues to analyze the provisions and its impact on nurses. To learn more about ANA’s staffing priorities, visit https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nurse-staffing/.
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The American Nurses Association (ANA) is the premier organization representing the interests of the nation's more than 5 million registered nurses. ANA advances the profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting a safe and ethical work environment, bolstering the health and wellness of nurses, and advocating on health care issues that affect nurses and the public. ANA is at the forefront of improving the quality of health care for all. For more information, visit www.nursingworld.org.