After a long battle, the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act becomes law

Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee overcame initial concerns and signed the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act (S0002A, H5012Aaa) on Thursday, which sets minimum staffing levels for Rhode Island nursing homes. Signing this legislation into law marks the end of a successful three year battle to more properly compensate direct caregivers and to allow them to deliver the kind of care nursing home residents deserve. The bill was given little serious attention by former Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, who blocked the bill’s passage twice before being voted out of office.

The most recent time the bill was blocked was a year ago, during a pandemic that claimed the lives of well over a thousand nursing home resident and workers. Instead, the House opted for a nonsensical study commission. In reaction to Speaker Mattiello, the caregiver’s union, SEIU-1199 helped lead the successful campaign to oust Speaker Mattiello. Meanwhile, the Rhode Island Health Care Association (RICHA), the for profit nursing home owners trade association, spent over $70,000 to try to re-elect Mattiello including over $38,000 in direct campaign contributions. In addition to ousting a sitting Speaker, SEIU 1199 NE helped elect State Representatives Brandon Potter (Democrat, District 16, Cranston) and Leonela Felix (Democrat, District 61, Pawtucket). Both were present at the bill signing on Thursday.

New House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (Democrat, District 23, Warwick) seemingly disinclined to repeat Mattiello’s mistake, supported the bill this year.

The new law, says Adelina Ramos, a CNA at Greenville Nursing Center who works with seniors in a dementia unit, “means we get more time with our patients – especially since I work in the dementia unit and basically have to rush through the care for our residents. So this means we can take more time with our residents and do more activities with them.”

Read more: https://upriseri.com/nursing-home-staffing-and-quality-care-act/