Federal report recommends stricter U.S. nursing home guidelines

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study says nursing homes may be understaffed to the point where a patient's health could be in jeopardy

From staff and wire reports

NEW YORK -- A new federal study is recommending stricter guidelines for U.S. nursing homes because many of them are so understaffed they may be endangering their patients.

If adopted by Congress, the report would require thousands of nursing homes to hire more nurses and nursing aides.

The study, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, concluded that understaffing has contributed to increased incidences of severe bed sores, malnutrition and abnormal weight loss among nursing home patients.

A high number of those patients end up developing life-threatening infections and other problems that could have been prevented had the homes been staffed adequately, the study said.

"We're talking about people dying of dehydration because they don't get water into their system, malnutrition because they don't get enough food, and ... bed sores because they don't get turned enough," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

The study recommends new federal standards to guarantee that patients receive a minimum of two hours of care each day from nursing aides, among other things. The study states that 54 percent of nursing homes currently fall below the proposed minimum standard.

Industry: Funding won't cover costs

The report, 10 years in the making, comes as nursing homes lobby Congress to restore nearly $16 billion cut from Medicare in 1997.

Nursing homes say it is impossible for the government to propose minimum staffing guidelines when it is providing inadequate subsidies under Medicare and Medicaid.

	VIDEO
CNN's Jonathan Aiken reports on a U.S. government study of nursing home conditions Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Government programs pay for the care given to nearly 70 percent of the 1.5 million nursing home patients in the United States.

The problem, says the nursing home industry, is those programs pay only $4 to $10 an hour for patient care -- not enough to meet expenses.

"It's like saying, 'I'm giving you $1,000 a year, get in to Harvard and cover the whole bill,'" said Lynn Collins O'Connor, CEO of The Washington Home, a nonprofit nursing facility in Washington.

Many nursing home officials said it was also difficult to attract and retain good workers due to the booming economy of recent years.

CNN Medical Correspondent Jonathan Aiken and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Report recommends stricter guidelines at nursing homes
July 24, 2000
Survey: Aging Americans worry about how to live independently
May 1, 2000

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
U.S. Senate - Special Committee on Aging

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.