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Residents and advocates press for higher nursing‑home staffing minimums; providers warn against rigid licensure ratios
Summary
At the public hearing, residents, ombudsman and advocates urged passage of SB 1279 to raise minimum direct‑care hours in nursing homes to 3.6 and ultimately 4.1 hours per resident per day; provider groups warned the bill’s prescriptive per‑licensure ratios could reduce flexibility and raise costs.
Resident leaders, the state long‑term care ombudsman and legal advocates urged the Aging Committee to advance Senate Bill 1279, which would increase minimum direct care staffing and set phases toward a 4.1‑hour standard.
Jeanette Sullivan Martinez, president of a resident council, and Robert “Bobby” Willis and John Baliciano, resident council leaders, described daily delays for basic care such as toileting and showering and urged stronger minimums. “Supporting SB 1279 means securing dignity,” Sullivan Martinez told the committee.
Mairead Painter, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, supported higher staffing and emphasized the need for “clear accountability measures” including posting of citations and penalties for facilities that fail to meet standards. Painter also cited the federal CMS payroll‑based journal as the reporting source for nursing home staffing data.
Advocacy witnesses and researchers cited federal recommendations. Elder‑law attorney Jean Milzarena reminded the committee that a 2001 federal report to Congress found a minimum of 4.1 hours of nursing care per resident per day as needed to meet quality standards and argued that acuity has increased since then.
Provider groups such as LeadingAge Connecticut opposed the bill’s proposed fixed ratios by licensure (specific minimums for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants). Meg Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut, told the committee that mandated per‑licensure ratios would remove flexibility needed to match staffing to resident acuity and could force costly hiring or displace other licensed staff: “We strongly object to creating these very specific ratios.”
Testimony included data cited by the ombudsman: in the payroll‑based journal reporting referenced, 197 Connecticut nursing homes reported in the most recent quarter; 186 reported meeting a 3.0 total nursing hours per day, 36 reported meeting 4.1 hours, and 102 reported meeting or exceeding 3.6 hours. Witnesses noted the figures are self‑reported by providers to CMS.
Supporters urged the committee to adopt phased increases in minimum direct‑care hours together with enforcement, monitoring and workforce investments. Providers asked for flexibility to allow facilities to adapt staffing mixes to resident acuity and to avoid penalties that could follow temporary staffing shortages.
No formal vote occurred at the hearing; the committee received competing policy positions on whether to require absolute per‑licensure minimums or to raise total direct‑care minimums while preserving staffing flexibility.
