February marked the one-year anniversary of President Biden's announcement of historic nursing home reforms. Creating a minimum staffing standard, which would be the most significant increase in protections for nursing home residents in decades, was central to his plan. In this episode, we are sharing the audio from Consumer Voice’s webinar that was part of the “Dignity for All: Staffing Standards Now!” campaign. This campaign is advocating for a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes.

The implementation of a minimum staffing standard would not only protect nursing home residents it would address the long-standing job quality problems that plague nursing homes. On average, nursing home staff turnover is 52% each year, which is the result of low-wages, poor benefits, inadequate training, and little opportunity for job growth. The burden of providing essential and critical care falls largely on women, a majority of whom are women of color, while they are treated poorly by nursing home owners and operators.

In this episode, you will hear a conversation with Consumer Voice and several direct care workers, also members of the Service Employees International Union, who discuss what it is like to work in an understaffed facility and what a minimum staffing standard would mean to direct care staff in nursing homes.