A push to create an emergency temporary staffing pool for nursing homes and other congregate care operators is gaining traction among Minnesota lawmakers and providers.
The state’s House of Representatives on Friday approved HF2914, a bill that would appropriate just over $1 million to establish the staffing pool. The program would provide one-time staffing assistance to facilities for up to 21 days after they’ve exhausted all resources to obtain temporary workers.
The program would prioritize organizations that are facing the most significant staffing crises and whose residents would be at significant risk of injury due to the need to transfer to another facility or a hospital for adequately staffed care.
The legislation has garnered support from the Care Providers of Minnesota. The association said the emergency temporary staffing pool would serve as a bridge to an ultimate solution of a “significant ongoing rate increase that will allow our settings to be competitive in the employment marketplace and allow us to recruit and retain our own staff members.”
“The temporary staffing pool, funded until July 30, 2022, should give long-term care communities experiencing the greatest staffing crisis the breathing room they need to stay open while we wait for action from our Legislature on the more sustainable solution,” Patti Cullen, Care Providers of Minnesota president and CEO, told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Friday.
