SEIU helps win new nursing home staffing standards

By Sheri Williams

After a years-long effort by SEIU to improve conditions for both patients and staff in federally funded nursing homes, the Biden administration recently announced new rules that will help the industry to grow and stabilize.

For the first time, the new guidelines will establish a minimum staffing requirement for facilities that receive federal funding, addressing the union’s concerns that these care centers have been chronically understaffed for years.

In addition, the rules will increase compensation for care workers, expand access to care for those on Medicaid and improve the quality of care patients receive.

SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry said, “Today is an historic moment. The Biden-Harris administration has taken a major step toward strengthening our long-term care workforce, ensuring quality care for those who need it and helping every family thrive.”

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra also visited Los Angeles SEIU 2015 workers in California to discuss the new rules.

Speaking in Los Angeles, the former state attorney general said, “Right now we are celebrating President Biden’s success in really helping caregivers get treated like professionals.”

Henry commended the Biden administration for fulfilling promises to care workers who were on the front lines of the Covid pandemic.

“By requiring 80% of Medicaid funding for home care to go directly to workers while taking into account unique circumstances for some providers and creating a federal nursing home staffing standard, our country is better equipped to move forward in the pursuit of building a long-term care system that works for everyone, in all communities,” she said. “The correlation between job quality and equal access to care is clear, and both rules are fundamental to transforming care jobs into sustainable, sought-after careers. Care workers—the majority of whom are women of color—have been underpaid and undervalued for generations due to a legacy of racism and sexism. These rules are also major investments in an essential workforce that has been historically left behind.

Henry pointed out that nursing homes have long been left to operate without needed oversight, a problem that is particularly evident around staffing. Because of low pay and difficult working conditions, staff burnout and turnover is often high, and many facilities struggle to retain enough staff to meet patient needs.

“The provisions that make up the nursing home staffing rule mark a long-overdue sea change for how too many nursing homes operate. We know that staffing levels at nursing homes are closely linked to quality of care residents receive, but we also know that bad actors slash staffing levels and keep wages stagnant in order to maximize profits,” Henry said. “It is significant that under this new rule, nursing homes must get input from direct care workers when assessing their unique staffing needs, centering the voices of those on the front lines to advocate for their residents.

“It is time to put care workers, residents and consumers first, and take meaningful action to repair a broken care system that hurts all of us. The need to address the long-term care crisis is urgent. And when lawmakers prioritize care, everyone benefits,” Henry said.