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US is taking steps to address nursing home staffing shortage: Harris
About 75 percent of nursing homes are understaffed
US Vice President a Roundtable Discussion on Nursing Home Care / https://twitter.com/VP
The Biden Administration is taking “historic steps” to address the shortage of healthcare workers in nursing homes, Vice President Kamala Harris has said.
“Over one million Americans live in federally funded nursing homes — the majority of which are understaffed. President Biden and I are taking historic action to address this staffing shortage and protect our care workers and loved ones,” Harris said at an event in Wisconsin on April 22.
There are approximately 1.2 million Americans who are living in federally funded nursing homes. And so — and that’s about four out of five of the nursing homes in our country. Okay? So, the vast majority of nursing homes are federally funded.
Addressing members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a union of about 2 million diverse members in healthcare, the public sector and property services, Harris said the majority of federally funded nursing homes are understaffed.
“The estimate is 75 percent of those nursing homes are understaffed. And understand what that means for the resident of that nursing home. It means that there may be no one available to help them out of bed,” she said.
“It means there may be no one available when they fall. It means that they will receive less medical attention because the workers — the care workers in that facility are going from room to room, from resident to resident, and understaffed in terms of giving folks what they want to give in terms of level of care,” said the vice president.
“It means more loneliness when we’re talking about anyone from our seniors to people with disabilities who are in those homes and who want and enjoy the interactions that they have with these care workers,” she added.
During the event, Harris announced new federal actions to address staffing shortages in nursing homes and help raise pay for home health care workers. “Care workers provide our loved ones safety, dignity, and self-determination. They do God’s work caring for us – and we must care for them,” she said.
Today, I announced new federal actions to address staffing shortages in nursing homes and help raise pay for home health care workers.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 22, 2024
Care workers provide our loved ones safety, dignity, and self-determination. They do God’s work caring for us – and we must care for them. pic.twitter.com/563LVjPNOR
I am so grateful to our care workers and to the members of @SEIU for the work you do every day. President Biden and I will continue to work to make sure you have the pay and support you deserve. pic.twitter.com/0zGppWpnJK
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 23, 2024
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