Nursing homes in New Jersey can have as many or as few nurse’s aides staffed as they deem fit. There are currently no minimum staffing requirements set in New Jersey, and a few Democratic lawmakers are looking to change that.
As we dive deeper into this problem, a sad and unfortunate truth comes to the surface – aides are underpaid. While employers agree that hourly wages are too low to attract and retain good employees, they can’t afford to raise salaries. A quick Google search for the average nurse’s aide salary in New Jersey reveals how low these numbers actually are.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts the mean hourly wage at $12.89 per hour (and other sources have it even lower). However underpaid nurse’s aides may be, they play a crucial role in how well or how poorly nursing home residents are cared for. The aides’ duties include: feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, and/or moving patients, which places them first in the line of fire when elder abuse occurs. While abuse varies on a case by case basis, it is almost no surprise that lack of pay and understaffing puts New Jersey at 49 out of 50 states for not preventing bedsores.
Home health care agencies warn that such personal assistance in New Jersey is in jeopardy. They claim low wages, an employee shortage, unfunded regulations, and declining reimbursement rates paid by the managed care companies administering the state’s Medicaid program are part of the problem. All of these factors are part of the equation of why nursing homes operate within such thin margins. Dr. Steven Handler, a geriatrician and assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, says many nursing homes are genuine in their efforts to provide quality care, but struggle to do so.
“The nursing homes are kind of stuck in an older model that is based on a very small operating margin, low-staffing model and low physician presence,” Dr. Steven Handler said.
While it is easy to also blame those in charge of operations at nursing homes for abuse, they are a part of a much bigger problem. According to associations representing agencies, Medicaid reimbursement rates range from $13.80 to $15.50 an hour. When you take into perspective the aides’ salaries, it becomes evident how stretched some nursing homes have become. Frances Pagan, a member of the board of the Home Health Services and Staffing Association of New Jersey in Parsippany, indicates that the reimbursement is barely enough to hire, train and supervise an employee.
The low pay not only hinders the hiring process, but it prevents employers from being able to keep good employees. Some employees find themselves needing second jobs, while others find work in altogether different industries offering higher paying service work.
The possibility of minimum wage being raised to $15 brings could help the situation for the nursing aides; however, nursing homes will have to be properly reimbursed.
Regardless of the factors involved, there is no excuse for nursing home abuse. If you or a loved one has any questions please contact us.