Florida Nursing Homes Experiencing a Decline in Staff: Report

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Nurse and non-nurse staffing in Florida nursing homes is on the decline, according to a new report. 

Nursing home staff “appears to be on a downward trajectory,” a new report from AARP Florida states.

The report points to nationwide economic decline and post-COVID burnout as possible reasons for the purported decline. 

Another potential factor mentioned in the report is a policy change made by the Florida Legislature in 2022. 

Prior to last year, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) were required to provide each resident with 3.6 hours of care per day. The legislation reduced the number of hours of care required by CNAs from 3.6 to 2.0. The reduction of care time is supposed to be supplemented by other personnel such as feeding assistants and physical therapists. 

The report shows that the hours of CNAs – who represent the greatest share of nursing home nursing staff – declined the most, from an average of 2.55 hours per resident per day to 2.33 hours. 

The report states that the decrease in CNA staffing leads “to nearly 22 fewer hours of care per day on average in a nursing home with 100 residents.” That dip in hours adds up to approximately “154 fewer hours of CNA hands-on care, or nearly 4 full-time CNAs on 40-hour/week shifts.” 

Non-nursing staff employees also saw a slight decrease in hours of care provided. 

“From April 2021 to October 2022, the total number of people in these non-nursing positions decreased from .82 per resident per day to .75, about 4 minutes per resident per day,” the report adds. 

However, only two categories of workers saw an increase in time of care provided to residents: “activities” and “dietary/feeding.” Those increases were negligible with “both up by less than a minute per resident per day.”

“It is a huge concern that the new categories of personnel included in direct care have not increased the numbers of people available to care for residents overall or address staffing shortages,” AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson said in June. “To improve quality of care in nursing homes, cooperation is needed among researchers, policy makers, lawmakers, and providers to explore the full range of possible approaches.”

One of the bright spots of the report noted that Florida seemed to fare better than other states where the aforementioned non-legislative factors are still affecting the elder care industry. 

This article is sponsored by AARP Florida.