NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is
intended only for use by the standing finance committees of the
legislature. The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume
responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used for
other purposes.
The most recent FIR
version (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) is available on the Legislative
Website. The Adobe PDF version includes
all attachments, whereas the HTML version does not. Previously issued FIRs and attachments may be
obtained from the LFC in
SPONSOR: |
Cordova |
DATE TYPED: |
|
HB |
HJM 25 |
||
SHORT TITLE: |
Continue to Study Nursing Home Staffing |
SB |
|
||||
|
ANALYST: |
|
|||||
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
||
FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
|
|
|
NFI |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to SB94, HB255, HB376, SB291, HB385
Responses
Received From
Department
of Health (DOH)
Health
Policy Commission (HPC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of Bill
HJM25 requests that the Department of Health
continue to study appropriate nursing home acuity-based staffing and
reimbursement methods, and to closely monitor nursing facility quality of care
to ensure resident health and safety.
Significant
Issues
The memorial requests the Department to: 1) continue to
closely monitor nursing home quality of care, 2) evaluate the current payment
methodology and make recommendations for funding an acuity-based reimbursement
system, and 3) report progress and legislative recommendations to the interim
health and human services committee and other appropriate groups no later than
October 2003.
DOH, Division of Health Improvement has studied this issue in the past and will continue to do so through a subcommittee of its Long Term Care Quality Cabinet.
RELATIONSHIP
Relates
to:
SB94
NMSU Nursing Education Funding
HB255
WNMU Bachelor of Science in Nursing
HB376
Nursing Excellence
SB291
Support for Nursing Education in
HB385
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
There
is a wide variation in staffing and the quality of nursing home services in
HJM25 requests DOH study nursing home staffing
as it relates to quality of care.
Quality of care is a function of quality nursing staff. There is currently a nationwide shortage of
nurses and
According to a study done by the US Department
of Health and Human Service, Bureau of Health Professions “The Health Care
Workforce in Eight States: Education, Practice and Policy” New Mexico
ranked lowest among the 8 states studied in RN’s and LPN’s per 100,000.
According to DOH, Division of Health
Improvement, “Incident Management System Trends Data Report SFY 2002”,
the major staffing issues for New Mexico residential facilities including
Nursing Homes are 1) high turnover rates (creating staff shortage), 2) training
and 3) communication.
The Long-Term Care Regulatory Quality Cabinet
has been studying and discussing nursing and nurse assistant shortages in
nursing homes over the past year.
Subcommittees were created from the Long-Term Care Summit held in
The HPC conducts analysis and evaluation on the data to
identify workforce shortage and underserved areas of the state through the
Geographic Access Data System (GADS), in compliance with the Health Policy
Commission statutory mandate.
A study funded by the New
Mexico Nursing Board indicates the following:
¨ FTE
vacancies for RNs exceed the number of new graduates annually.
¨ There
are on average 1200-1400 vacant nursing positions statewide.
¨ Original
predictions were that changes in the health care delivery system would reduce
the demand for nurses. This does not
appear to be the case in
¨ Most
nursing specialties are in short supply in
¨
¨ The
nursing workforce appears to be aging, with the average age of working nurses
being 42-46. Nationally, one third of the nursing workforce is over 50.
Any studies that might identify new solutions to
BD/njw:prr