Residential Care: Report Presents Nurse and Aide Staffing Levels

​In 2014, total staffing of residential care communities (e.g., assisted living) with registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical or vocational nurses (LPNs or LVNs), and aides was 2.84 hours per resident per day on average, states a February 19, 2016, report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Presenting data from the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers, the report examines staffing levels for each provider type based on three organizational characteristics (size, metropolitan statistical area, and ownership) and four resident composition characteristics (communities that served primarily residents with dementia, residents needing help with any activities of daily living (ADLs), residents needing assistance with medications, or residents whose care was paid partly or entirely by Medicaid, respectively). Total staff hours were much higher in communities with 4 to 25 beds (3.28 hours) than in those with more than 25 beds (2.09 hours).