Belinda Clay Presentation

NCCNHR Conference
April 9, 2002
Washington DC

Good Morning
I thank God for being here today and I thank the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform for allowing me this opportunity to participate in this most important event.  To the representatives and everyone that has taken the time to come and address the issue of   UNDERSTAFFING: Thank you.  With almost 10 years of observation, I have come to view understaffing like a giant squid.  It reaches out and affects various areas.  Understaffing provides the atmosphere for less than acceptable patient care.  Bedsores, weight loss, contracted bodies, frustration in residents, accidents to residents that are labeled as abuse, dehydration, and many other health problems can be linked to understaffing.    
Understaffing creates undue stress in the workplace for those who are the foundation for the structure of patient care, the CNAs.  Burnout in good CNAs, the high turnover rate, the exodus to another line of work, permanent injuries, tension, and low morale can all be linked to understaffing.    
Understaffing increases the cost of insurance to facilities.   Millions of dollars are being paid out due to abuse or neglect, and in many cases can be linked to understaffing.
Understaffing creates unnecessary EMS vehicular trips, emergency room visits, and hospital stays that cost millions of dollars.
Understaffing causes families to suffer undue stress; we suffer physically, mentally, and financially.   For almost ten years my mother has been institutionalized, and approximately two weeks after her placement I was forced to choose between my career or acceptance of neglect and abuse of my mother.  For some time, I did not understand why mother wasn’t being properly cared for.  As her stay continued, it became obvious that mother was not being left in her urine or bowel, or not being fed, gotten up, or exercised because the CNAs did not care, but the problem was a lack of staff.  The requirement of staffing, as set by the state law, did not equal needs of the residents.  That produced understaffing.

Since mother’s placement, my sister and I have spent countless hours at the nursing home aiding in the care of our mother.  Effective the first of this year the minimum staffing requirement was increased in Florida, and I have seen some improvement.  Still, staffing must increase to the numbers recommended by the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home reform. The job of a CNA must be made more desirable to attract a sufficient work force.  And the elements of wages and benefits must be considered if the problem of understaffing is truly going to be resolved.   Until it is resolved, we will continue to be affected by the various negative consequences that plague us today.  Thank You.

Belinda S. Clay