Aides, stressed by understaffing, have the third highest rate of serious injury among private industry workers. Grassley is requesting a General Accounting Office study of nursing home finances to investigate why aides aren't paid more. A year ago, understaffing issues drew blank stares from policymakers, nursing home activists said. Now, understaffing is a hot issue. Meanwhile, someone else is waiting to go to the bathroom.
Residents deserve more.
Jackson and other aides testified in favor of federally mandated staffing requirements, as did relatives of nursing home residents. But industry representatives disagreed. Mandating numbers will not guarantee hearts. Assuming that a law dictating the number of bodies in my center on a daily basis will guarantee quality is a flawed concept. Ferris, the woman who inspired the audience's standing ovation, initially had not been scheduled to testify.