Nursing home law: Over three hours of direct care now required daily at all facilities

A new nursing home law is now in effect.

Across New York residents at nursing homes will require 3.5 hours of direct nursing care each day. That requirement will have to be upheld by nursing home facilities across the state.

Staffing levels at nursing homes across the state indicate that it will be a challenge making the new laws a reality.

It’s also unclear what that means for facilities that cannot.

“The vast majority of states have long had minimum staffing standards for their nursing homes, New York is one of the 10 or so states that did not have it and we finally made it,” said Richard Mollot of the Long Term Care Community Collation. He recently spoke with News10NBC about the new law and its implementation.

Several nursing homes across the region have not been accepting new admissions because of staffing levels, which did not improve after the coronavirus pandemic ended.

While some things have improved for nursing homes- like the rate at which facilities are reimbursed. It doesn’t necessarily mean the solution has arrived.

All involved agree: Recruiting more workers and paying good wages for hard work is necessary.

Staff Report

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