Nursing homes brace for possible staffing issues with Biden mandate

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The more than 100 nursing homes in West Virginia could face additional staffing challenges with President Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate.

Marty Wright

Biden announced the mandate Wednesday for those who work at the homes but exactly what it fully means remains unclear, according to West Virginia Health Care Association CEO Marty Wright.

“There’s a lot of questions and some concerns about what this announcement means,” Wright said during an appearance Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline.” His association represents more than 100 nursing homes in West Virginia.

Wright said what they do know is the vaccination mandate will apply to all nursing homes that receive Medicaid or Medicare as part of their payments for patient care. He said virtually all 123 nursing homes in West Virginia, which care for more than 10,000 people, fall under that category. He said it’s not known what wiggle room if any the mandate will have.

“They’ve talked about setting thresholds (for vaccinations) where if you get above a certain threshold then you will meet the requirement,” Wright said. “It could be as dramatic as you can’t work in these facilities unless you’ve been vaccinated.”

Wright said approximately 67% of the approximate 12,500 nursing home staff members in West Virginia have been vaccinated against COVID-19. He said those numbers, which are some of the highest in the nation, have been steadily going up.

“It increases every single week. There continues to be strong education and as new employees come on they are being vaccinated,” Wright said.

Biden said Wednesday more than 130,000 nursing home residents in the U.S. have died from COVID-19.

President Joe Biden (Adam Schultz/The White House)

“A study shows highly vaccinated nursing home staffs is associated with at least 30% less COVID-19 cases among long-term care residents,” Biden said. “These steps are all about keeping people safe and out of harm’s way.”

Wright’s concern is what happens for those who won’t get vaccinated. he said it could make staffing challenges even more challenging.

“We’ve had difficulties with staffing and now you bring in the mix saying you can’t work in this facility potentially if you aren’t vaccinated—you’re going to see further flight out of the health care profession,” Wright predicted.

The nursing home industry has been told to expect a federal rule from the Biden administration by early September. Wright said the mandate could be in place by Sept. 20 when the booster vaccinations are scheduled to be rolled out.

Wright said there remain a lot of unknowns the industry is trying to sort through.

“There’s a lot of concern out there but also a lot of questions. We still have to wait to get the devil in the details. I don’t want to be Chicken Little here because we don’t know all the details yet but it’s fair to assume there’s a lot of questions being asked right now,” Wright said.





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