America’s Nursing Crisis Escalates

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Biden’s 24/7 nursing home mandate

How many times has your government enforced a mandate that completely missed the point? 

The Biden administration recently finalized a rule establishing minimum staffing provisions for nursing homes receiving federal funding. 

Under the new rule, nursing homes must provide a minimum of 3.48 hours of direct care per resident per day, including 0.55 hours from registered nurses and 2.45 hours from certified nurse aides. Facilities should also have an on-site nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Data shows that only 19% of nursing facilities meet the minimum requirements. Health institutions are already struggling with maintaining the right ratios, and they are about to face harsh financial penalties if they fail to comply.

These nursing facilities, already facing massive shortages, now have their backs against the wall and are left to figure things out themselves. 

Knowing your constituents

The staffing mandate is a response to the surge of Americans flocking to elderly homes and the growing concern for standards of care. In drafting the ruling, the U.S. government failed to acknowledge that the underpaid, understaffed, and overworked healthcare workers are also their constituents.

Clearly, the U.S. has not learned its lessons from the harrowing COVID-19 experience. The pandemic pushed these frontline workers to leave the medical industry permanently due to overwork and unfair compensation. Now, those who stayed need to work longer hours.

Health leaders believe the ruling will lead to the closure of more nursing homes, as they are forced to hire more nurses at increasingly higher rates as they become increasingly hard to find. 

The only way for these facilities to continue operating is to either force their staff to work overtime or hire more nurses. But how can they achieve the latter if the national nurse talent pool is running dry?

Offshore staffing’s critical role

It’s a familiar trend. The private sector compensates for the government’s knee-jerk policies. In their quest to enforce instant change, governments fast-track legislation with little or no consideration for its practical implications. The ruling provides no provisions for solving the already crisis-point nursing shortage.

Luckily, there is a release valve, although it requires some out-of-the-box thinking.

Offshoring firms hold the solution. Technological advances have enhanced the business offerings of these outsourcing firms. Back-office tasks such as accounting, HR, and data entry are some of the core services utilized by firms from various industries.

Now, they have specialized offerings for the healthcare industry, such as virtual nurses, who can help with patient check-in, ambient monitoring, and discharge. These will empower floor nurses to focus on direct care of their elderly patients. 

Question for your business

Have you built offshore staffing into your operations yet?

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