The following is an alert for the Q1 2022 staffing report. To access the report, click here.

August 24, 2022 – Staff retention is essential for nursing homes to provide quality care for their residents. Unfortunately, turnover continues to be a major problem for many of the nation’s 15,000-plus facilities. The average nursing home turns over more than half (53.3%) of its nursing staff within a year, according to the latest federal data.

Today, LTCCC announces the publication of the latest staffing data for every US nursing home (in compliance with mandatory reporting requirements) during the first quarter of 2022. This staffing report includes information for every nurse and non-nurse staff position, facilities’ use of contract (agency) staffing, and, for the first time, turnover and weekend staffing levels (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began publishing turnover and weekend staffing levels in 2022). The federal data show that average nursing home staffing (3.62 Total Nurse Staff Hours Per Resident Day, incl. 0.61 RN Staff HPRD) is far below the levels needed to meet basic care needs for the nation’s 1.1 million nursing home residents.

Staffing Facts for Q1 2022

  • Nationwide, the average nursing home reported a nursing staff turnover rate of 53.3% and RN staff turnover rate of 51.9%. (Note: 17.7% of nursing homes either submitted data that did not meet the criteria required to calculate nurse staff turnover or did not submit staffing data; 23.9% of nursing homes did not meet the RN staff turnover criteria or submit RN staffing data).
  • Contract employees accounted for 9.7% of all nurse staff hours in Q1 2022, nearly double the rate from Q1 2021 (5.0%).
  • Total RN Staff HPRD (0.61) is down more than 10% since the first quarter of 2021 while total staffing levels have decreased about 8% in that period.
  • Staffing levels are significantly lower on weekends. The median nursing home provided 3.06 total nurse staff HPRD on weekends, about 15% lower than the overall staffing level.
  • Roughly one in four (26.8%) nursing homes met the essential total care staff threshold (4.10 HPRD), as determined by a landmark 2001 federal study. Though recent studies have found that adequate RN staffing is essential, only 30.5% of nursing homes met the RN staff threshold (0.75 HPRD) indicated by the study.

LTCCC’s Q1 2022 report can help the public, media, and policymakers identify and assess the extent to which nursing homes in their communities provided sufficient staffing to meet basic clinical and quality of life needs. The report is based on the most recent payroll-based journal (PBJ) data reported by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). (See: PBJ Daily Nurse Staffing, PBJ Daily Non-Nurse Staffing, and Provider Information). Visit the NursingHome411 Data Center for more information on staffing, five-star ratings, and other important nursing home data.