Even with all the laws and regulatory oversights, the quality of care in most nursing homes remains very poor. Even after the improvements in health care witnessed after OBRA 87, there is still a lot that needs to be done.

There have been many incidents involving neglect of the residences in nursing homes or even a shortage of staff. Improving the quality of care in nursing homes should be a very important thing to work on.

There are several strategies that, if implemented correctly, can improve the quality of care in all nursing homes. They include;

1. Improve The Regulatory Process

Most of the nursing homes in this country are affected by a very backward regulatory process. This poor regulatory process among nursing homes has slowed down the progress that would have helped the quality of care.
For this reason, a more direct kind of regulation is required for all nursing homes. This will ensure that these facilities operate under a licensing system from the state. The licensing process for these facilities is bound to be a very important step.

This is because it will oversee that no nursing home receives Medicaid or Medicare funding without meeting all the federal standards set.

With the federal authorities setting the standards, conducting regular surveys, and enforcing all the rules, the whole setup of nursing homes is bound to change. This is because these enforcement mechanisms are one of the major ways to guarantee a quality assurance system.

With the right regulations in place, we’ll get to see those who do not follow them punished and their licenses revoked. This will help scare off the incompetent management boards that might be running some of these facilities and pave the way for more responsible ones.

2. Improve The Information Systems For Better Monitoring

One way to improve quality and comfort for the nursing home residents is to place a very reliable information system. This system will record reliable, valid, and timely data about individual residents in all nursing facilities and the type of care they receive.

This strategy has been there since the 1990s as the residents’ data is collected through a federal directive in the form of minimum data set (MDS). However, some improvements have to be made to this information system to make it even more effective.

Through it, relevant authorities can assess ‘quality indicators’ such as cognitive problems, accidents, behavioral problems, emotional problems, weight problems, use of psychotropic drugs, among many others.

This is meant to ensure the progress in the quality of care for residents is noted and necessary improvements made.

3. Improve The Caregiving Workforce

Compassionate, responsible, and trained caregivers are always needed for nursing homes. The strategy to improve the overall workforce among all nursing homes is welcomed by many.

This is because it’s through a strengthened workforce that the quality of care in these nursing homes can improve. Some of the recommendations to improve the caregiving workforce in these facilities include;

4. Hire More Staff

More qualified nurses are needed to supplement the staff number in the nursing homes. There should always be licensed nurses on duty working 24 hours a day around the year.

Regardless of the size of the facility, a registered nurse and a registered nurse director should be on duty for not less than 8 hours a day. This is aimed at ensuring that these facilities attain the highest levels of quality care possible.

5. Staff Training

Poor quality of care in most nursing homes can be attributed to inadequate training. The inadequacy of trained certified nursing assistants is one way of proving that a nursing home is liable for neglect.

With the complexity of health care encountered today, OBRA 87 has given the directive that all nursing assistants should receive not less than 75 hours of entry-level training, take part in 12 hours of in-service training and pass a competency test in the first four months of their employment.

6. Improved Working Conditions, Wages, and Benefits

Nursing assistants working in most nursing homes receive very low salaries and put up with very difficult working conditions. This ends up affecting the overall quality of the work and subsequently the quality of care in these facilities.

For this reason, the responsible stakeholders should offer higher wages and increased benefits to the nurses to increase the number of interested workers in the workforce.

With the above-listed recommendations, the quality of care among nursing homes is bound to improve tenfold. This guarantees a win for humanity and the health sector in general.