El proyecto de ley de Jimenez sobre mejorar la supervisión de hogares de ancianos de NJ va al gobernador

Jimenez Bill to Improve Oversight & Care in NJ Nursing Homes with Minimum Nurse to Patient Ratio Requirement Clears Assembly, Goes to Governor

(TRENTON) – To ensure proper staffing and improved quality of care for residents in New Jersey nursing homes, legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrat Angelica Jimenez was approved by the full Assembly 51-26-1 on Thursday.

The bill (A-4652) would establish minimum ratios for the number of direct care staff to the number of residents in a nursing home. Direct care staff and direct care staff member is defined as any registered professional nurse, licensed practical nurse, or certified nurse aide who is acting under their authorized scope of practice, and according to documented employee time schedules.

“There isn’t a more important time than now to act to ensure New Jersey’s nursing homes have adequate staffing of direct care professionals for their residents,” said Jimenez (D-Bergen, Hudson). “The onset of Covid-19 quickly illuminated the numerous inefficiencies in staffing, preparedness, and medical equipment in our nursing homes. They were dangerously unprepared for the rapid response needed to address the demands of a public health crisis.

“Nursing home care has, for far too long, been under scrutiny in the state and it’s time to address the concerns. A mandatory minimum for staff-to-patient ratios in these facilities will be critical to fixing the long term healthcare system in the state.”

Under the bill, the direct care staff-to-resident ratios would be as follows:

• un asistente de enfermería certificado para cada seis residentes en el turno de día;
• un miembro del personal de atención directa de cada diez residentes para el turno de noche, siempre que no menos de la mitad de todos los miembros del personal sean asistentes de enfermería certificados, y cada miembro del personal sea contratado para trabajar como asistente de enfermeria certificada y desempeñe funciones de asistente de enfermera certificada; y
• un miembro del personal de atención directa a cada catorce residentes en el turno nocturno, siempre que cada miembro del personal del cuidado directo sea contratado para trabajar como asistente de enfermería certificada y desempeñar funciones de asistente de enfermera certificada.

The minimum direct care staffing ratios established by the legislation would only apply to direct staff members, including certified nursing aides in nursing homes. It also does not restrict the ability of a nursing home to increase staffing levels at any time, beyond the established minimum in the bill.

The bill would also establish the “Special Task Force on Direct Care Workforce Retention and Recruitment” in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

In May 2020, Governor Murphy announced Manatt Health would undertake a rapid review and provide recommendations to protect the residents and staff of Long Term Care (LTC) facilities in light of the continued impact of COVID-19. The final Manatt report noted that New Jersey’s nursing homes were largely underprepared for the threat of a widespread infection and under-resourced due to long-standing staffing shortages. It recommended that the State design and implement minimum staffing ratios for Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), and Certified Nurse Assistant (CNAs).