Share:
Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 1, 2022 03:34 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Judy Ward |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Study of Staffing Trends in Long-Term Care Facilities |
| The COVID-19 pandemic has hit our long-term care facilities particularly hard. I plan to introduce a resolution that authorizes the Joint State Government Commission to research the impact of the pandemic on the staffing needs of our Commonwealth’s long-term facilities, as they pertain to the expenditure of Medicaid funds by the Commonwealth. The study will examine wage rates for both staff nurses and contract nurses working in these facilities, as well as the rates charged by staffing agencies to provide these nurses. It will also look at the increase in wages from 2018 through today (using the latest available figures), as well as the level of care required by facility residents over the same time period. The changes in wages will be measured against the inflation rate. The ratio of staff nurses to contract nurses over the same time period, as well as whether facilities experienced an increase in the need for staff members with specific expertise or certification, will also be studied. The study is to be completed within seven months and submitted to the Senate. Please join me in co-sponsoring this resolution, which will give us a clear picture of how the pandemic has affected the staffing needs of our long-term care facilities, and the cost of providing care to some of our Commonwealth’s most vulnerable citizens. |
Introduced as SR288