NAHCA’s Statement on Aug. 22nd CMS Informational Bulletin
August 23, 2022
NAHCA was pleased to see CNA education and training as a focus in a new informational bulletin issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Among other things, CMS encourages states to work with the agency and facilities to determine if there are any costs – such as those for continuing education training for CNAs – that can be included in the payment rate for Medicaid services.
The federal agency also urges states to seek out other solutions to training and testing capacity issues within the nursing facilities through collaboration with the states’ Departments of Public Health that certify Nurse Aide Training and Competency Programs (NATCEPs) to promote funded training opportunities for nursing facility staff. (read more)
NAHCA Statement on NASEM Report
April 7, 2022
The National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), representing more than 26,000 Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) across the country who provide life sustaining care to the nation’s frail and elderly, released the following statement today in response to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, “The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff,” released earlier this week.
This statement is attributable to Lori Porter, co–founder and CEO of NAHCA:
“As we continue our efforts to advocate for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) amid an historical staffing crisis, we applaud the NASEM report and the work of the committee that produced it. This publication serves as a declaration and call to action that something must change in response to how CNAs and other direct care staff have been treated in this field for many years. Without adequate and appropriate staffing there simply cannot be high–quality care. And every citizen of this country deserves to have care that is nothing short of high–quality and person–centered.
“The report verifies what we have been saying for years: to successfully recruit and
retain a high–quality nursing home Careforce, there must be competitive compensation (as opposed to ‘adequate’ compensation) coupled with incentives and supports that honor and elevate the recognition and work of CNAs. (read more)
NAHCA Responds to CMS Phasing Out TNA Waivers
April 7, 2022
The National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), representing more than 26,000 Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) across the country who provide life sustaining care to the nation’s frail and elderly, released the following statement today in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) announcement that it will be phasing out some temporary waivers linked to the public health emergency (PHE), including the temporary nursing aide (TNA) program.
This statement is attributable to Lori Porter, co-founder and CEO of NAHCA:
“NAHCA has always supported efforts to bring more qualified staff, including nursing assistants, into post-acute and long-term care settings. However, we have long been concerned about bringing in nursing assistants without appropriate training. (read more)
Survey: CNAs Cite Low Wages, Burnout, Lack of Respect as Key Contributors to Staffing Crisis
March 4, 2022
The biggest challenge to CNAs’ jobs is the impact of the current staffing shortage, according to the results of a new survey from the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), the professional association for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs).
The survey, which yielded nearly 650 responses, consisted of eight questions centering on the work of CNAs as they contend with the many challenges they face due to the pandemic and ensuing staffing shortages.
CNAs were asked to provide feedback on their biggest on–the–job challenges, reasons for leaving, or wanting to leave, their jobs, as well as what it would take for long–term and post–acute care employers to hire them back. The survey also asked respondents to report the staffing ratios they experience on their shifts and to describe concerns about their work.
The following results offer a window into what underpins the CNA staffing crisis and how it is affecting care today: (read more)
National CNA Association Reacts to CMS Comments on Vaccine Mandate
August 26, 2021
President Biden’s recent COVID vaccine mandate for skilled nursing facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid payments has spurred considerable conversation and debate. Many high-profile officials are weighing in with support of this policy. NAHCA reiterates their commitment to CNAs and residents alike.
On Wednesday, August 25th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) held a nursing home stakeholders call to discuss the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for nursing home staff. On that call the deputy director of CMS’s Center for Clinical Standards and Quality Jean Moody-Williams indicated that the vaccine requirement would “really level the playing field.” The National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), in fact, believes it would do the opposite. Leveling the playing field would mean requiring all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified health care entities to mandate the vaccine. This is important as some health and hospitals are already advertising to recruit staff on social media indicating “vaccine optional.”“In addition to non-vaccine requiring health care employers poaching the staff from nursing homes, nursing homes frequently send their residents out to hospitals and treatment centers; and without blanket health care vaccination requirements, the residents could be exposed by a non-vaccinated health care worker in one of those settings,” said Lori Porter, Co-Founder and CEO of NAHCA. “Only requiring nursing homes to mandate is like trying to fix your broken bicycle while riding it. Residents will be exposed and continue to bring the virus back into the nursing homes.”One CMS official on the recent provider call said that “those who are looking for a workplace without a vaccine mandate are running out of options.” NAHCA also disagrees with this assessment. In reality, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) aren’t running out of options at all.
In fact, as Ms. Porter noted, “Many employers in other sectors such as retail do not require the vaccine, they pay more than the CNA starting wage; and some have also enhanced their benefit packages to include enticements such as college tuition and health care insurance. So CNAs have options in other sectors, and we must be prepared to lose many dedicated professionals.”The nursing home staff vaccine mandate is clearly intended to protect the residents, but it falls short of doing so due to the patchwork of vaccine requirements among employers. NAHCA believes that it ultimately will jeopardize the residents by creating an even greater shortage of CNAs available to provide the life-sustaining care they so desperately need and deserve – yet still expose vulnerable residents to COVID-19.
NAHCA Responds to POTUS Decision to Mandate Nursing Home Staff Vaccinations
August 20, 2021
While we recognize and understand the reasons behind President Biden’s decision, mandating all nursing home staff to be vaccinated is only part of a complex issue that must be addressed. Nursing homes are now allowing visits from families, volunteers, and vendors, many of whom may not be required to be vaccinated. Ensuring the safety of residents would include vaccination mandates among these groups as well.
We believe that credible education and open dialogue with trusted individuals, as well as addressing the underlying issues that CNAs have faced for the entirety of their careers, will give them more confidence in the vaccines. Taking these steps will help to mitigate the impact on an already unstable workforce.
Our members remain loyal to serving and protecting vulnerable elders and those with disabilities. Whether they choose to be vaccinated and stay in their profession or remain unvaccinated and leave, either choice is about protecting residents.
NAHCA’s Statement on Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act of 2021
August 16, 2021
The National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA) thanks Senators Wyden, Casey, Blumenthal, Bennet, Whitehouse, and Brown for introducing the Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act of 2021. The basis of this legislation is to increase transparency, accountability, and oversight in nursing homes; improve staffing; and support innovation in the structure and culture of these facilities, all of which have never been more critical.
NAHCA specifically supports the bill’s references to raising staff wages, improving quality care due to increased staffing, and creating approaches such as staff-investment demonstration programs to bring new solutions to complex issues. We are pleased to see the legislation call for Congress to invest $50 million to study the appropriateness of establishing minimum staff-to-resident ratios in skilled nursing and updating those standards every five years.
It is important to note that COVID-19 has exposed the persistent staffing crisis and spotlighted the urgent need to increase direct caregiver staffing in America’s post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) centers, and time is of the essence for such solutions. This legislation, as it is currently written, does not address the need for timely results. In fact, the standards it proposes could take nearly three years to be enacted; and it is unclear if there would be funding to support these standards and initiatives to recruit and retain high quality staff. NAHCA urges Congress to make solving this staffing crisis a top priority, including the enactment of long- and short-term solutions and the coordination of a national strategy to recruit new health care professionals into the workforce.
Our certified nursing assistant (CNA) members take pride in their profession and welcome Congressional action that supports their efforts. They hope to be included in conversations about these critical issues moving forward.
NAHCA Issues Statement on COVID-19 Vaccinations for Certified Nursing Assistants
August 12, 2021
Following much deliberation and consideration about COVID-19 and the rise of its variants, the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA) remains divided on the issue of supporting across-the-board vaccine mandates for all aging services employees. While NAHCA urges all frontline staff caring for elders to get vaccinated, the organization also recognizes the significant division on the question of vaccinations among its membership.
As the only national organization that represents Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), NAHCA and its Board of Directors acknowledges that there is solid evidence to support the safety and efficacy of the vaccinations. However, among NAHCA’s membership of more than 26,000 CNAs, a significant number remain hesitant to get vaccinated. Following are the underlying reasons for this hesitancy:
Insufficient efforts to educate and build confidence in the vaccine among the public, as well as among frontline staff;
Confusing and mixed messages from leadership at federal, state, and local government entities;
Widespread lack of support throughout the pandemic in the form of PPE and other measures that could have better protected CNAs and the elders they care for;
Chronic underfunding and understaffing in nursing homes that sometimes leads to substandard care and difficult and dangerous working conditions; and
A long history of poor benefits and pay that in many cases do not amount to a living wage.“We recognize and respect employers’ rights to require COVID-19 vaccines for its employees, as long as they are implemented in accordance with federal and state laws and adhere to appropriate exemptions for those with medical conditions or religious objections,” says Sherry Perry, chair of the NAHCA Board of Directors. “However, it is our position that more must be done not only to address CNAs’ concerns about the vaccine, but also to improve the underlying issues that these dedicated frontline care staff have faced for the entirety of their careers.”NAHCA believes that by addressing these issues through credible education and open dialogue with trusted individuals and entities, more CNAs will be inclined to be inoculated. The organization is committed to building confidence in the vaccines among CNAs through the following efforts:
The creation of educational resources in consultation with thought leaders in the field who are committed to sincere and substantive dialogue with CNAs;
Strategic communication tools, such as videos and testimonials that tell the stories of CNAs’ journeys from hesitancy to vaccination;
Research aimed at building vaccine confidence and raising immunization rates among frontline health care staff.