Report Card Ranks States by CNA Staffing Levels in Nursing Homes
Nursing home residents in Alaska have the most hours of direct-care per resident day, according to a newly released report card that ranks U.S. states by nursing home quality.
According to the report card, published by the advocacy group Families for Better Care, Alaska is also the top-rated state for overall nursing home performance, while Texas has the country’s worst nursing homes.
Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) working in Alaska nursing homes provide 3.56 hours of care per resident day, the report card showed. Of Alaska’s nursing homes, 100 percent have better-than-average direct-care staffing levels.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Illinois ranked last in the nation in direct-care staffing hours per resident, with just 2.14 hours.
Texas came in last place in the category “Direct-Care Staffing Above Average.” Less than one-fifth (19.68 percent) of Texas nursing homes employ adequate numbers of direct-care workers.
Other categories by which nursing homes were ranked included:
- registered nurse staffing hours,
- the number of health inspections, and
- the percentage of facilities with reported deficiencies.
“A distinctive trend differentiated the good states from the bad states,” said Families for Better Care executive director Brian Lee in an interview with Senior Housing News. “States whose nursing homes staffed at higher levels ranked far better than those with fewer staffing hours.”
— by Matthew Ozga
