Analysis Finds Nursing Home Staffing Mandate Would Require Over 1200 Additional Full-Time Employees in Oklahoma, Cost $76 Million Annually

Almost 6,000 Residents at Risk of Displacement in Oklahoma if Nursing Homes Can’t Hire Workers Needed

Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Steven Buck.
Care Providers Oklahoma released an analysis today by professional services firm CLA (CliftonLarsenAllen, LLP) on the impact that the Biden administration’s recently announced federal staffing mandate would have on nursing homes in the Sooner State. The proposed rule would require specific nursing home staff to spend a minimum number of hours with each resident – 2.45 nurse aide hours per resident per day (HPRD) and 0.55 registered nurse (RN) HPRD – as well as have a 24-hour registered nurse (RN) on site. (story continues below)

NURSING OPPORTUNITIES AT COMMUNITY AND NORTHWEST SURGICAL HOSPITALS

Among CLA’s findings:

  • Oklahoma nursing homes would need to hire an estimated 1,253 additional full-time employees, including 538 nurse aides and 715 RNs.
  • The proposed mandate would cost Oklahoma nursing homes approximately $76 million per year.
  • Over 99 percent of nursing homes are currently not meeting at least one of the three proposed staffing requirements: the 2.45 nurse aide HPRD, the 0.55 RN HPRD, and the 24/7 RN.
  • If nursing homes are unable to increase their workforce to meet these new requirements, more than 5800 nursing home residents could be impacted by census reductions.

“This analysis underscores that Oklahoma’s nursing homes cannot meet this staffing mandate as it’s currently proposed without the proper funding and workforce programs,” said Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Steven Buck. “Simply put, the government is demanding that our facilities hire skilled workers that do not exist in this state with money that we do not have. At the end of the day, it is going to be vulnerable seniors who are hit the hardest by the unintended consequences of this fatally flawed mandate. We will continue to sound the alarm on this impossible double standard and ask for help from our local and federal leaders to rescind this policy.”

  • Read the full CLA analysis and the impact on each state here
  • Download a PDF of the Oklahoma-specific analysis here

 

About Care Providers Oklahoma:

Previously the Oklahoma Association of Health Care Providers (OAHCP), Care Providers Oklahoma represents the interests of more than 18,000 residents and 19,000 professionals that work in Oklahoma’s long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, assisted living homes and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Care Providers Oklahoma’s mission is to assist its members in providing the highest quality care to the seniors, individuals with disabilities and vulnerable Oklahomans who live in our facilities. We advocate for the enhancement of that care so that Oklahoma long-term care residents may live in the comfort and dignity they deserve. Learn more here.