Short-Staffing Violations in Multiple New Jersey Nursing Homes Result in Citations Placed:
Several New Jersey nursing homes have recently been cited by the Department of Health for staffing violations amounting to nursing home malpractice, says a New Jersey Spotlight News article. Totaling around $425,000 in fines, the violations are related to a 2020 state law requiring facilities meet strict staff-to-resident ratios and reflect an aggressive enforcement of the law by the Health Department.
The law, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in October 2020, requires the following ratio of certified nursing assistants to residents during the day, evening, and overnight shifts, respectively: 1:8, 1:10, 1:14. During evening and night shifts, registered nurses or licensed professional nurses can serve as CNAs, although they must be paid at RN and LPN rates.
According to the article, while early enforcement of this law equated to rare fines against facilities at which short-staffing directly impacted quality of care, the current enforcement shows nursing homes with staffing violations facing short-staffing penalties of $1,000 per day. The article named one New Jersey nursing home, Complete Care at Madison, as being charged a $114,000 penalty for repeated staffing violations.
While nursing home operators argue the law is unconstitutional, and while a current lawsuit brought by six nursing homes and a long-term care industry group says a care worker shortage renders the law impossible to meet, head of the New Jersey Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Laurie Facciarossa Brewer calls the Health Department’s enforcement “judicious and accommodating” in regards to staving off nursing home malpractice.
“It did not occur to me at any point that these were unacceptable fines in any way,” Brewer said, “especially when it’s not for the first violation, it’s not for the second violation, it’s for the third and the fourth violation.”
Staffing levels in nursing homes have a direct impact on quality of care, and it is the responsibility of the nursing home to ensure proper staffing; otherwise, nursing home malpractice has occurred. For example, poor staffing in nursing homes can result in the following two negative circumstances, both of which are related to nursing home bedsores and equate to nursing home malpractice:
- Residents being left alone for prolonged periods: Unrelieved pressure against the skin is one of the main causes of nursing home bedsores. At-risk residents need to be moved frequently; home with staffing issues are often unable to move these residents as frequently as required.
- Neglected resident hygiene: Nursing homes must sufficiently staff their facilities to ensure proper hygiene for residents; otherwise, nursing home malpractice has occurred. Hygiene for residents who have developed bed sores is especially important, since contact between dirty conditions and bedsores can instigate the deterioration of these sores into serious pressure wounds.
If your loved one living in a nursing home shows evidence of neglected hygiene (such as dirty clothing, unbrushed hair, or soiled undergarments), or has sustained a bedsore or suffered some other type of nursing home malpractice as the result of poor staffing, don’t hestitate to contact a nursing home malpractice or wrongful death attorney.
Fighting Short-Staffing, Nursing Home Malpractice, and Wrongful Death
Attorney Brian P. Murphy is committed to combating nursing home malpractice in Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing homes. No Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home resident should suffer the deleterious effects caused by poor staffing, or live in fear of nursing home wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy has years of experience as a Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney. He is committed to bringing his clients’ nursing home malpractice cases to successful resolutions. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.
