Society Updates Position Statement on Appropriate Staffing Standards

Last week, the Society released an updated position statement on Appropriate Staffing Standards In Post-Acute and Long-Term Care. This expands on a previous statement (A00 and H02) to encourage a systems-approach to establishing appropriate staffing standards. In the statement the Society recognizes that while having sufficient number of staff is critical, staffing levels based only on resident-to-worker ratios will not adequately assess or meet resident needs. The Society supports continued research regarding staffing levels (number and skill mix) that will optimally meet the individual needs of residents in nursing homes and all options to recruit and train staff. Some other key points of the statements include:

• Person-centered and evidence-based dementia care requires 24-hour caregiving. As more residents in PALTC are diagnosed with dementia or other cognitively impaired related diagnosis, facilities should have the flexibility and resources to staff adequately based on needs specific to this population.
• Increasing PALTC staff compensation (salary and benefits) to match the ongoing competitive market of other health care delivery sites is critical.

The statement also points to the need to improve the quality, competence, and engagement of staff leadership and supervision as an important element in increasing staff retention. The complete statement can be found here.