Registered nurses (RNs) are required to remove catheters and to observe the wound to ensure there is no sign of infection. A study of 720 residents in six nursing facilities found that catheters were removed from residents in a timely way only 19.5% of the time. Residents remained catheterized an average of 6.8 extra days. When catheters are not timely removed due to the absence of sufficient numbers of RNs or otherwise, residents are hospitalized or sent to the emergency room, experiencing unnecessary medical risks and costly care that could have been avoided.
“Failure to timely removal of central and peripheral venous catheters after antibiotic therapy in nursing homes” found that ““Among the 169 catheters with late removal, 59 (34.9%) had an infection-related hospitalization or emergency department visit of which 36 (61.0%) were in place ≥7 days of antibiotic end.” They conclude, “Each day a catheter is retained without a clear indication for its use poses unnecessary risks for residents, including thrombotic complications, local infection, and central line associated bloodstream infections.”
The final nurse staffing rule, which requires RNs 24 hours per day/seven days per week and 3.48 total nursing hours per resident per day in every nursing facility nationwide, remains under attack in Congress. A bill reintroduced in the Senate by Senators Deb Fischer (R, NE) and James Lankford (R, OK), Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act, prohibits implementation or enforcement of the nurse staffing rule. A companion bill in the House is co-sponsored by Representatives Michelle Fischbach (R, MN)
March 6, 2025 – T. Edelman