Official says nursing home care is on the decline

An industry official says the quality of care in Iowa nursing homes is on the decline due to staffing shortages and high turnover. Di Findley is executive director of the Iowa Care Givers Association. That group is holding a hearing on the situation today in Des Moines. Findley says vital staff members, like Certified Nurse Assistants or C-N-A’s, make a poor wage.The average C-N-A makes between seven and nine-dollars an hour for work that is physically, mentally and emotionally demanding. Findley says few people stay in jobs like that for such low pay. She says the high turnover rate is compromising the quality of care in Iowa.Most C-N-A’s leave within the first three months of employment. A federal study found 54-percent of U-S nursing homes are understaffed, which leads to bedsores, malnutrition, dehydration and other poor care. Findley says an Iowa study found people in the nursing care industry left the field for a variety of reasons.Today’s forum runs from 9 a-m until 3:30 p-m at Drake University’s Olmsted Center. Findley hopes it will draw: health care providers, state leaders, immigration officials, church leaders, the A-A-R-P and consumers.