PROVIDENCE – Legislation requiring a set number of hours of daily care for nursing home residents and a pay raise for certified nursing assistants has been approved by the state Senate.
The Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act (2021-S 0002) sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin, D-Providence, now heads to the House, where Rep. Scott A. Slater, D-Providence, is sponsoring a companion measure.
Goodwin’s bill requires a minimum of 4.1 hours of resident care per day, a number that reflects the federal recommendation for nursing homes, and proposes to raise wages for certified nursing assistants to $15 an hour.
The legislation is supported by the union-backed group Raise the Bar on Resident Care, made up of Rhode Island nursing home staff and other advocates.
Goodwin, citing data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, notes that the Ocean State ranks No. 41 in the nation for average hours of care received by nursing home residents.
“There is a resident care crisis in our state. Staffing shortages and low wages leads to seniors and people with disabilities not receiving the care they desperately need. The pandemic, of course, has exponentially increased the demands of the job and exacerbated patients’ needs,” she said. “We must confront this problem head on before our nursing home system collapses.”
If the bill is signed into law, nursing homes will have from July through October to implement changes, including minimum staffing requirements. After the implementation period, noncompliant facilities will face fines.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.
