State lawmakers from both parties expressed interest in adopting more ambitious mandatory minimum staffing requirements at Connecticut nursing homes during a Tuesday hearing on new regulations from the Department of Public Health.
For many Connecticut nursing homes, the next few years will be about survival.
Along with unprecedented staffing shortages and less-than-ideal occupancy rates, nursing home operators are also facing a state Department of Social Services that is intent on “right-sizing” the industry by directing money away from nursing homes and toward home care programs.
Rep. Jane Garibay, co-chair of the legislature’s Aging Committee, said problems with care in nursing homes have been going on for years. “This is not new, and it’s not just because of COVID. COVID shined a light on what is happening, but it is our responsibility to change it.”