June 2024
Long-Term Care Task Force Recommends Major Overhaul
The New Jersey Task Force on Long-Term Care Quality and Safety has released a final report that offers a blueprint for a fundamental shift in how long-term care services are provided in New Jersey.
Representatives of the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) served on the Task Force. The report is available online .
The report urges New Jersey officials to pursue efforts to:
- Rely more heavily on home- and community-based services (HCBS) instead of nursing homes.
- Transform nursing homes into smaller, more home-like settings.
- Empower and retain long-term care staff members.
Dozens of recommendations in the report are intended to support those goals. For example, the report recommends expanding eligibility for Medicaid long-term care services, rapidly expanding home-based long-term care services, and increasing the availability of affordable and accessible housing.
Today, about 37 percent of people receiving long-term care services live in a nursing home. The Task Force recommends that the state strive to nearly cut that percentage in half — to 20 percent — in three years.
Additional recommendations include establishing incentives to develop smaller nursing homes, offering grants to offset costs for nursing homes that voluntarily downsize, and providing free or reduced tuition, scholarships, or loan forgiveness to individuals who are beginning or advancing a career in long-term care.
“I am pleased that task force members seized the opportunity to fundamentally rethink how long-term care services should be delivered to reflect the ways New Jersey residents want and deserve to live," said New Jersey’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Laurie Facciarossa Brewer. "New Jersey has historically relied too heavily on institutional care such as nursing homes. The report recognizes this shortcoming and recommends that the state continue to invest in and rapidly expand its system of home- and community-based services."
Federal Minimum Staffing Rules for Nursing Homes
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized rules in April that require nursing homes receiving federal funds to provide a minimum of 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident per day and ensure that a registered nurse (RN) is present 24 hours a day.
Thank you to the residents who sent letters to CMS last fall. Your input was valuable in making the staffing requirements a reality. The LTCO supports the new rules but will continue advocating for higher standards. Research indicates that residents actually need more than four hours of nursing care per day.
Read more.
June is Pride Month
Did you know? New Jersey guarantees certain rights and outlaws discrimination against LGBTQI and HIV-positive individuals in long-term care. The LTCO monitors compliance with the LGBTQI and HIV-positive Bill of Rights. If you believe your rights have been violated, please call 877-582-6995.
Learn more.
Official Site of The State of New Jersey
