How Do Staffing Shortages Affect Maryland Nursing Home Safety?

Nursing homes must provide specialized care based on each resident’s needs. Staffing shortages can make it difficult for residents to receive the care they deserve. Worse, staffing issues are often associated with bad outcomes such as injuries.

This article provides details on how staffing shortages affect Maryland nursing homes. It also explains how a Laurel nursing home injury attorney can help your family. 

How Can Staffing Shortages Affect Everyday Nursing Home Care? 

Studies by both government agencies and non-profit organizations have found that staffing shortages are one of the key causes of poor outcomes for nursing home residents.

This connection makes sense. Every day, nurses, nursing assistants, orderlies, and other employees help residents with crucial tasks such as: 

• Eating
• Hygiene (e.g., bathing) 
• Dressing 
• Toileting
• Moving into or out of a bed, wheelchair, or chair 
• Feeding assistance 
• Administering medication 
• Monitoring vital signs (e.g., blood pressure), behavior, affect, appetite, and other health indicators 
• Changing dressings and providing wound care
• Supervising residents 

Also, when nursing homes are short-staffed, employees take on more work. Overwhelmed staffers are more likely to make mistakes, write incomplete care notes, or miss new signs of illness or decline such as lack of appetite, weakness, or confusion. 

Are Nursing Numbers the Only Sign of Staffing Issues? 

No. Each nursing home task requires a different level of skill. As such, you should look for a nursing home with the appropriate skill mix. In other words, although Maryland law requires nursing homes to have at least one registered nurse present 24-hours-a-day, you would not want one nurse to handle every aspect of your loved one’s care. So, in addition to nurses and nursing assistants, ask about the number of orderlies, housekeeping, security, and other essential staff. 

What Safety and Health Issues Are Caused by Nursing Home Understaffing? 

Staffing shortages generally increase the risk of injuries and poor health outcomes.

For example, at an adequately staffed nursing home, each resident should be properly supervised. But at a nursing home with staffing issues, residents’ movements can easily go unnoticed, possibly leading to wandering and elopement. Other common issues connected to staffing shortages include: 

• Falls and fall-related fractures 
• Bedsores (pressure ulcers) 
• Medication errors 
• Infections 
• Poor pain management 
• Malnutrition and dehydration

What Are the Warning Signs of Nursing Home Staffing Problems? 

Families can use two tools to learn about staffing issues: their own observations and available data. 

Observations

On every visit, families should look for signs that their loved one has not received care or has received improper or delayed care. Some signs to watch for include: 

• Unanswered calls for assistance
• Long delays in answering calls, especially for toileting and similar urgent matters 
• Your loved one appears unkempt or unbathed 
• Your loved one complains about missed therapies or medications 

One minor delay doesn’t necessarily indicate staffing issues. But a pattern across multiple visits could be a warning sign. 

Data

Maryland families can find important staffing information in person or online. Maryland law requires all nursing homes to post staffing information for every shift on each floor or unit. Look for these posters on your next visit. The Medicare website also has staffing information. 

Do Staffing Issues Excuse Unsafe Nursing Home Care?

Generally, no. 

In 2021, nearly 94 percent of nursing homes reported staffing shortages. While nursing homes cannot control this issue, they can control how they respond. For example, Maryland law allows nursing facilities to voluntarily limit how many patients they admit. So, if your family is considering a nursing home negligence claim, the general nursing shortage alone will not stop the suit. Rather, the case will look at whether the home did enough under the circumstances. It will also look at the role the staffing shortages played in your loved one’s incident or injury. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Nursing Home Staffing

• Do nursing home staffing reports include temporary or agency workers?

Yes. Federal staffing data includes agency and contract workers in addition to full- and part-time employees. 

• Do nursing home staffing reports show both staff turnover and staffing levels?

Yes. Federal staffing data for nursing includes turnover for the total nursing staff, registered nurses, and administrators for the past 12 months. 

• How far back should families look when reviewing a nursing home’s staffing history?

There is no one answer. However, a one-year lookback will give you a good idea of staffing issues and turnover. 

• Can two nursing homes with the same staffing rating have different staffing patterns?

Yes. Federal regulations use a complex formula to create their scores. So, even if two facilities have the same score, one could have higher weekend staffing levels while the other could have higher staff turnover. 

How Can a Laurel Nursing Home Negligence Attorney Help? 

If your family is concerned about the care that your loved one is receiving in their nursing home, a Laurel nursing home negligence attorney can help. If your family needs legal help after a nursing home incident, contact the Law Offices of Thomas E. Pyles. We will build a strong case with thorough investigation and research. Schedule a free consultation today by calling 301-705-5006 or using our online contact form.