McKee signs executive order regarding nursing home staffing emergency

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Today, Gov. Dan McKee signed the executive order regarding nursing home minimum staffing fines.

McKee shared that since Jan. 2020, over 400,000 nursing home and assisted living employees have resigned due to post-COVID burnout and low pay, covering 20% of their workforce.

Rhode Island has lost over $50 million in annual nursing home funding, McKee shared.

Six nursing homes have closed due to inability to staff, McKee said, which has caused over 100 Rhode Island residents to relocate to different nursing facilities.

The cost of enforcing the minimum staffing level is estimated at $60 million, which would further strain nursing home resources and result in more closures.

The order says that fines regarding nursing homes that fail to meet minimum staffing requirements have been suspended.

Senior Communications Advisor, Matt Sheaff, shared that the executive order’s purpose is to provide “clarity and predictability” regarding nursing home minimum staffing fines while the administration works to find long-term solutions and prevent further closures.

Sheaff also noted that The Department of Health has not issued any fines to nursing homes under this law.

The order is set to take effect immediately, McKee said.