Sens. Rounds, Thune and colleagues send letter to Biden Administration urging to better address nursing home staffing shortages in rural communities
WASHINGTON – Thirteen senators joined to send a letter, pushing the Biden Administration to better address nursing home staffing shortages in rural communities. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) were among them.
The letter urges Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator, to avoid one-size-fits-all staffing mandates for nursing homes.
The letter stated “First, sweeping staffing mandates do not account for individual facilities’ operational capabilities and local workforce conditions… Additionally, blanket staffing standards may not provide enough flexibility to nursing homes in light of well-known and long-standing obstacles to the recruitment and retention of direct care workers, especially in rural and underserved areas.”
What CMS is looking to do is set a minimum number of nursing home staff that would be required to meet, in an attempt to have better safety and quality care for residents.
“We urge you to work with Congress and rural stakeholders on tailored solutions that address the severe workforce challenges in our states’ underserved areas,” the letter also stated.
Other senators that signed off on this letter included:
- John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)
- Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)
- Steve Daines (R-Mont.)
- Deb Fischer (R-Neb.)
- John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.)
- John Hoeven (R-N.D.)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)
- Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)
- Gary Peters (D-Mich.)
- Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.)
- Jon Tester (D-Mont.)
