Iowa (RI) — A federal judge in Iowa has blocked a rule that would have forced nursing homes to have a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day. Brent Willett is president and CEO of the Iowa Health Care Association, the trade group for Iowa nursing homes.
The rule, advanced during the Biden Administration, also would have required that each nursing home resident get over three-and-a-half hours of direct care from certified nursing assistants each day. Willett says between 90 and 95 percent of Iowa nursing homes would not have met either of those staffing mandates.
Under current federal law, nursing homes must have a registered nurse on duty for eight straight hours.
Iowa and 19 states sued to block the new round-the-clock standard for RNs, as well as the mandated daily hours of direct care for nursing home residents. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says the regulations would have forced many nursing homes to close, and the ruling protects access to long-term care, particularly in rural Iowa.
KIWA Staff Photo
