As Connecticut’s 2023 legislative session progresses, the Statewide Coalition of Presidents of Resident Councils (SCPRC) has sent a letter to state lawmakers pressing them not to lose sight of nursing home staffing challenges.
Connecticut’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program works with the SCPRC to empower the state’s 20,000 nursing home residents to speak up and communicate their needs around quality of life and care. Such representation has become especially pertinent since COVID-19 intensified nursing home staffing shortages around the nation,[1] leading to alarming reports of neglect and inadequate care becoming prevalent.[2]
The letter to lawmakers included statements from Connecticut nursing home residents illustrating impacts of the staffing shortages. One resident recounted, “I laid in bed all weekend and Monday because there wasn’t enough staff to get me up. I wanted to get out of bed, but there was no one to help me.” Another resident commented, “It’s already a loss of your dignity when you have to ask for help to use the bathroom, but to have to sit on a soiled pad for 15 hours is unacceptable. They have to do something about the staffing issue.”
Connecticut’s legislative session convened on January 4th and adjourns on June 7th.
[1] Chidambaram, P., & Ochieng, N. Nursing Facility Staffing Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic. KFF. (April 4, 2022). Available at: https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/nursing-facility-staffing-shortages-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
[2] Carlesso, J., & Altimari, D. Newtown Nursing Home Report Alleges Neglect, Staffing Shortages. Connecticut Public. (February 1, 2023) Available at: https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-02-01/newtown-nursing-home-report-alleges-neglect-staffing-shortages
February 2, 2023 – C. St. John