Bill Text: NJ S2878 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes minimum certified nurse aide-to-resident ratios in nursing homes.*
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2016-01-19 - Pocket Veto - Bills not Acted on by Governor-end of Session [S2878 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S2878-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes minimum certified nursing assistant-to-resident ratios in nursing homes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning staffing requirements for nursing homes and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any other staffing requirements as may be established by law, every nursing home as defined in section 2 of P.L.1976, c.120 (C.30:13-2) or licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall maintain the following minimum certified nursing assistant-to-resident ratios:
(1) one certified nursing assistant to every six residents for the day shift;
(2) one certified nursing assistant to every nine residents for the evening shift; and
(3) one certified nursing assistant to every 14 residents for the night shift.
b. Upon any expansion of resident census by the nursing home, the nursing home shall be exempt from any increase in certified nursing assistant staffing ratios for a period of nine consecutive shifts from the date of the expansion of the resident census.
c. (1) The computation of certified nursing assistant minimum staffing ratios shall be carried to the hundredth place.
(2) If the application of the ratios listed in subsection a. of this section results in other than a whole number of certified nursing assistants for a shift, the number of required certified nursing assistants shall be rounded to the next higher whole number when the resulting ratio, carried to the hundredth place, is fifty-one hundredths or higher.
(3) All computations shall be based on the midnight census for the day in which the shift begins.
d. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes as may be required by the Commissioner of Health for staff other than certified nursing assistants, or to restrict the ability of a nursing home to increase staffing levels, at any time, beyond the established minimum.
2. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect of the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Health may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes minimum certified nursing assistant-to-resident ratios for nursing homes.
Under current regulations, the Department of Health requires nursing homes to meet a minimum number of hours of direct care staff-to-resident time per day. It is the sponsor's belief that mandating specific certified nursing assistant-to-resident ratios will provide a more precise, enforceable requirement, and will improve the level of services provided to nursing home residents in the State.
Under the bill, certified nursing assistant-to-resident ratios will be as follows:
(1) one certified nursing assistant for every six residents on the day shift;
(2) one certified nursing assistant for every nine residents on the evening shift; and
(3) one certified nursing assistant for every 14 residents on the night shift.
The bill sets forth a methodology for computing the appropriate ratio, and provides that a nursing home that experiences an increase in resident census is exempt from increasing the number of certified nursing assistants for nine consecutive shifts.
Nothing in the bill would affect any other minimum staffing requirements as may be mandated by the Commissioner of Health for nursing home staff other than certified nursing assistants, and nothing in the bill would prohibit a nursing home from establishing staffing levels above the established minimum.
