www.ohca.com Oregon Health Care Association 15 • Additionally, nursing facilities will be required to have a RN on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Nearly all (97%) Oregon nursing facilities cannot currently meet the new 24/7 RN requirement. It is well documented that the country is facing a growing caregiver shortage as the population ages. Despite the staffing mandate’s phase-in implementation (urban facilities have 2–3 years; rural facilities have 3–5 years), Oregon has a severe nursing shortage that must be addressed immediately. Without more nurses, and funding to support those nurses, facilities will be unable to increase their workforce to comply with this new staffing mandate and serve aging Oregonians. Nursing facilities may be forced to limit admissions, downsize their facility, or ultimately, close altogether. Community-Based Care Staffing Requirements In alignment with industry best practice, Oregon’s community-based care facilities are subject to various staffing requirements set by the state government. In general, facilities must have sufficient, awake direct care staff to meet their residents’ scheduled and unscheduled needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A facility is required to use an acuity-based staffing tool (ABST) to help determine their staffing plan and ensure staffing levels are reflective of the overall resident acuity in that facility. Acuity-based staffing is widely viewed as the preferred model for staffing over staffing ratios for community-based care because each facility is unique in their services and resident population, which makes acuity vary significantly between facilities. Other factors that facilities must consider in developing a staffing plan include, but are not limited to, the number of residents in the facility, the physical plant and structural design of the facility, and the presence of residents who need two-person assistance. Oregon Care Partners Trainings Established in 2014 by the Oregon Legislature, Oregon Care Partners provides access to no-cost, high-quality trainings in all corners of the state. These trainings are offered in-person and online with timely, evidencebased curriculum, including Alzheimer’s and dementia care; medication management; challenging behaviors and communication; trauma-informed care; diversity, equity, and inclusion in long term care; and specialized training on Alzheimer’s disease for public safety workers. From January 2023 to May 2024, 47,835 unique individual caregivers completed 188,379 Oregon Care Partners in-person and online classes/webinars.28 The COVID-19 pandemic required Oregon Care Partners to completely reimagine its curriculum delivery. All classes were conducted via webinar, and online infection prevention training courses were developed in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS). Total number of caregivers trained 47,835 Total number of in-person and online classes 188,379 Caregivers Trained via Oregon Care Partners Source: Oregon Care Partners, 2024.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzc3ODM=