The Senior Care Policy Briefing covers important long-term care issues by highlighting policy updates, news reports, and academic research.
Read the full Senior Care Policy Briefing below or download here.
September 30, 2024.
NEWSFLASH
- Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Bernie Sanders, and Representative Jan Schakowsky sent a letter criticizing the CEOs of Brookdale Senior Living, National HealthCare, and Ensign Group for paying their top executives nearly $70 million in 2023, a 30% increase from 2022, while opposing new minimum staffing requirements aimed at improving nursing home care. The lawmakers condemned the industry for prioritizing executive profits over improving poor working conditions, such as low pay and high turnover, which negatively impact care quality. Despite receiving billions in taxpayer funds, the for-profit nursing home sector resists reform efforts needed to support staff and residents.
LTC BY THE NUMBERS
- Iowa suspended $47,500 in fines against the Garden View Care Center after it was cited for inadequate staffing and abuse of residents. Despite state inspectors finding that the facility had insufficient staffing to meet minimum standards, the home’s nursing director reported management pressure to make further cuts, which she described as unsafe. According to reporting in the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the facility, part of a chain managed by Arboreta Healthcare and owned by CareTrust, has faced repeated citations for violations of federal and state regulations, including verbal and physical abuse of residents, failure to report incidents, and insufficient staffing. Despite the violations, no corrective action has been effectively implemented.
- Garden View Care Center provided 3.02 total nurse staff hours per resident day (HPRD) in Q1 2024, far below the 4.1 HPRD identified as the minimum necessary in a 2001 federal study.
- CareTrust is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) which owns 285 facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities in 30 states, across the country.
- While residents and care staff faced degrading and unsafe conditions, CareTrust reported “an average yield for investors of 9.5%” according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
- Mississippi has one of the highest rates of antipsychotic drug use in nursing homes, with about one in four residents receiving these medications, compared to the national average of one in five. Experts attribute this problem to staff shortages and a lack of proper training, leading nursing homes to medicate residents as a quick fix for behavioral issues, often without addressing underlying causes.
WIDESPREAD CONCERNS
A study by The John A. Hartford Foundation found that only 37% of Americans with a loved one in a nursing home believe they are receiving high-quality care, highlighting widespread concerns about safety, independence, and potential mistreatment. A significant majority of older adults support policies to improve nursing home quality, with 81% expressing distrust in the healthcare system’s focus on profit over care quality.
