Answer discussion

ANSWER DISCUSSION…AT LEAST 2 REFERENTS AND NOT 5 YEARS PASS ..THANK YOU

Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

            Long-term care is an extremely vulnerable healthcare setting because they often lack adequate staff, resources, and updated technology that is required to provide quality patient care. This is because not enough money is being invested into nursing home facilities, their staff, or the care that the residents receive. Ensuring that residents at long-term care facilities receive high standard care should be a priority, however, many quality improvement challenges still exist, especially those involving fall prevention measures, dementia care, antibiotic management, and prevention of unnecessary hospitalizations. (Toles et al., 2021, p. 2) Many of these quality improvement challenges revert to the staffing shortages in nursing homes, as the staff is unable to provide quality care because they are being pushed to their limits and are unable to spend adequate time with each resident to provide the care they need.

            Staffing shortages are the main healthcare issue that is currently affecting the long-term care facility I work at the most. Our shortages are mostly due to inadequate pay, poor leadership, and our high staff turnover rates, however, poor policy for adequate staffing ratios in nursing homes also plays a huge role. Virginia is one of sixteen states that does not require a minimum number of staff hours per resident in nursing home facilities and a big reason for this is because more money will be needed for what is required to provide facilities with safe staffing ratios. These staffing issues are especially prevalent in low-income areas. (Masters, 2021) This policy will soon be discussed in an upcoming General Assembly session, and if this policy is passed, it will have a huge positive impact on nursing home residents and staff. Residents are not able to receive the care they need and deserve due to short staffing, which leads to adverse events such as an increased number of falls, weight loss, dehydration, depression, acquired pressure ulcers, infections, and preventable hospitalizations. Competing needs, such as those of the workforce, resources, and patients, should impact the development of policy because healthcare policies are put into place for the benefit of patients, staff, and healthcare facilities to help prevent errors and to help with decision making and communication.

            All healthcare facilities are focused on providing efficient and cost-effective care; however, they must keep in mind that providing high-quality, patient-centered care is of equal importance. Right now, at the healthcare facility I work at, I do not feel that our residents are receiving high-quality, patient-centered care because of our poor staffing ratios. This negatively impacts our residents in so many ways and leads to higher mortality rates, but also has a negative impact on our staff and can lead to nurse burnout, frustration, and job dissatisfaction. Some barriers that affect patient care include organizational policies, resources, and staffing ratios. (Kelly & Porr, 2018) While I do believe that it is important to provide efficient, cost-effective care, I also think that the healthcare industry needs to put patient-centered care as a number one priority. I truly believe improving staffing ratios, which may be more costly upfront but will save money in the long run due to fewer adverse events in patients, is one of the best ways to improve patient care.

 

References

Kelly, P., & Porr, C. (2018). Ethical nursing care versus cost containment: Considerations to enhance RN Practice. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol23no01man06

Masters, K. (2021, December 9). Virginia lawmakers endorse staffing requirements for nursing homes. Virginia Mercury. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/12/08/virginia-lawmakers-endorse-staffing-requirements-for-nursing-homes/

Toles, M., Colón-Emeric, C., Moreton, E., Frey, L., & Leeman, J. (2021). Quality Improvement Studies in nursing homes: A scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06803-8