New York Nursing Home Gets Maximum $7,000 Fine for Repeated Understaffing Deficiencies
A New York nursing home that has received continuously low ratings has been given the maximum fine of $7,000 by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) after being cited for recurring instances of insufficient staffing, along with other violations.
A spokesman from NYSDOH reported that due to the understaffing, the nursing home is only allowed to have a maximum of 110 residents, despite being licensed for 120 beds. He gave a statement regarding the $7,000 maximum fine that indicated it was “based on multiple insufficient staffing deficiencies cited by the department during three unannounced inspections.”
It was also reported that the NYSDOH had cited 26 nursing homes from across the state for insufficient staffing in 2019, and that the agency has experienced pressure from concerned entities for allowing nursing homes to operate with an insufficient number of nurses.
At present, NY nursing homes are required only to have “sufficient” staffing levels, with no specified ratios. The State Legislature directed the NYSDOH in 2019 to conduct a study on safe staffing. The NYSDOH was told to report its findings back to the Legislature by December 31, but it deadline has not been met.
Compliance Perspective
Failing repeatedly to meet the required sufficient staffing levels needed to provide care for residents and continuing to receive citations for insufficient staffing and other violations may be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations, and may also result in substantial fines and other sanctions.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures for sufficient staffing to meet the needs of the residents based on their individual acuity levels.
- Train staff responsible for scheduling and distribution of available staff per unit to ensure that the facility’s staffing levels meet the needs of the residents, that this information is posted as required by regulation, and that staffing is secured on all shifts for this purpose.
- Periodically audit to determine if the numbers of staff needed to meet the levels of acuity of all residents in the facility are being posted, and that those staffing requirements are actually being met on all shifts on a day-by-day basis.
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