and January 2001, more than 5,000 cited inadequate staffing as a main cause in the decline in quality of nursing care" (Hendry). This is a major problem since residents are the top priority in the nursing home. The current staffing levels at nursing homes in the United States are, "[O]ne RN (registered nurse) and one LVN (licensed vocational nurse) for every 34 resident, and one nursing assistant for every 12 residents per day. The total average nurse staffing time was 3.5 hours per resident per day" (Harrington in "Nursing Home Residents", 12). Harrington took this information from the HCFA (Health Care Financing Administration), which is an organization that aims to re!
             gulate the quality of care in nursing homes.
             A group of experts developed a set of minimum staffing levels that all nursing homes should abide by. This included 24-hour RN coverage and a minimum of 4.5 hours per day with each resident. It also stated that during the day, there should be 1 licensed nurse for every 15 residents. There should be 1 licensed nurse for every 20 residents in the evening and 1 nurse for every 30 residents at night (Harrington in "Nursing Home Residents", 13-14). These numbers are just a minimum. The fewer residents for every nurse, the better the outcome of nursing home care is. There is not one minimum ratio that is suitable for all nursing homes, but there is one level that is suitable for each resident population.
             Some nursing homes are also improperly staffed because of the use of temporary nurses. Even though they get paid at a higher rate, it saves the nursing home administration money because they are not given benefits. The nursing homes tell potential residents that their temporary nurses are fully trained; when in reality they have not been properly trained. The nursing homes are satisfied if there are no major complaints. These issues are prevalent in the majority of nursin...