Providers had some hope but also plenty of uncertainty — and some downright skepticism — a day after federal regulators’ unveiled plans to offer nursing students up to $50,000 to work in a nursing home or for a state survey agency.
In addition to concerns that the $20 million pledged to the program isn’t enough, some worry that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services isn’t hitting the right target in seeking groups to judge nurse applicants and distribute the grants.
According to CMS, eligible applicants for the grant program are nonprofit nursing and educational organizations – including national associations for nursing schools, nurses, or nursing students.
Nate Schema, president and CEO of the Good Samaritan Society, called the initiative “an important step toward addressing the growing workforce challenges in long-term care” that demonstrates CMS’ commitment to supporting those who dedicate their careers to caring for vulnerable residents.
“However, while this program is a positive development, we remain deeply concerned that it will not fully resolve the significant gap in the number of nurses required to comply with the minimum staffing mandate,” Schema said in an email. He noted that Good Sam estimates it needs 98 additional RNs to meet the requirements of the rule that ramp up starting next year.
Only seven of 133 Good Samaritan Society long-term care locations (just over 5%) would qualify for hardship exemptions. But currently, 95% would not meet the requirement to have an RN on-site 24 hours a day, leading Schema to repeat calls for the mandate’s repeal even amid the promise of additional federal support for recruitment and retention.