Nursing homes
Study links more registered nurse time in nursing homes to fewer resident hospital trips
An August study of nearly 15,000 nursing homes found that homes with more registered nurse hours per resident had fewer unplanned hospital stays and emergency visits among long-stay residents, giving families a useful question to ask.
Key facts
- McKnight's Long-Term Care News reported on August 26 on a study published in August in BMC Nursing.
- Researchers analyzed staffing data from 14,993 nursing homes in the federal Payroll-Based Journal, looking at total nursing hours per resident day, registered nurse (RN) hours, and the RN share of all nursing hours.
- Nursing homes with more total nursing hours had lower unplanned hospitalization rates for long-stay residents.
What happened
McKnight's Long-Term Care News reported on August 26 on a study published in August in BMC Nursing. Researchers analyzed staffing data from 14,993 nursing homes in the federal Payroll-Based Journal, looking at total nursing hours per resident day, registered nurse (RN) hours, and the RN share of all nursing hours.
Nursing homes with more total nursing hours had lower unplanned hospitalization rates for long-stay residents. A 10-percentage-point higher RN share was associated with 0.560 fewer emergency department visits per 1,000 resident-days. The authors said their design does not prove cause and effect, and called for more research on whether increasing RN capacity directly improves outcomes.
What it means for families
Staffing numbers are one of the few things families can look up before choosing a nursing home. This study suggests the mix of staff matters, not only the total hours, so it is worth asking how much of the nursing time comes from registered nurses.
For example: two homes may report similar total staff hours, but one may rely more on RNs. That difference is something you can ask about directly on a tour.
What this means in New York: New York nursing homes report staffing to the same federal system, so the staffing data on Medicare's Care Compare site applies here too.
Quick answers
What did the nursing home staffing study find?
Nursing homes with more total nursing hours had lower unplanned hospitalization rates for long-stay residents. A 10-percentage-point higher RN share was associated with 0.560 fewer emergency department visits per 1,000 resident-days. The authors said their design does not prove cause and effect, and called for more research on whether increasing RN capacity directly improves outcomes.
What to do this week
- Look up any nursing home you are considering on Medicare's Care Compare and read its staffing section, including RN hours.
- On a tour, ask how many registered nurses are on duty on day, evening, night and weekend shifts.
- Ask how often residents were sent to the hospital in the last year and what the home does to prevent avoidable trips.
Sources
More from Nursing homes
- Senate Democrats' report calls for nursing home ownership transparency and stronger oversight
- Nursing homes have cut use of agency staff by 44% since 2022, research firm says
- Medicare confirms daily therapy alone can qualify a nursing facility stay