News Article

Consumer Voice Releases New Report on Staffing in Nursing Homes

March 01, 2022

Understaffing has plagued nursing homes for years and residents have suffered due to insufficient and sporadic care. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare for the country the result of years of not investing in resident care. For residents, families, and advocates the catastrophic events of the COVID-19 pandemic were foreseeable. While residents died from COVID-19, countless others suffered from isolation and neglect due to understaffing.

Consumer Voice’s new report, Inadequate Staffing During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Catastrophic Effects on Nursing Homes Residents, looks at federal data regarding nursing home residents and documents the true price of inadequate staffing.

The report found that during the pandemic:

• The number of residents experiencing pressure ulcers rose 31%
• The number of residents experiencing significant weight loss rose 49% 
• The number of residents reporting feeling down, depressed, or hopeless rose 40%
• The increase in the rate of residents receiving antipsychotic medications jumped 77.5%, while the increase in the rate of residents being diagnosed with schizophrenia rose 54%

Read the full report.