To the editor:

The recent decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to rescind the Biden-era minimum staffing rule is a devastating step backward for nursing home residents and the workers who care for them. HHS claims the rule “disproportionately burdened facilities” and threatened access to care in rural and tribal communities. But what about the burden placed every day on the people living in these facilities and on the staff stretched to their limits trying to meet their needs?

Staffing levels are the strongest indicator of quality care. When facilities argue that safe staffing is too heavy a burden, it raises a troubling question: How can an industry entrusted with the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors claim hardship when asked to meet even the bare minimum standard? Too many facilities already treat the minimum required by the state as the ceiling rather than the floor. Cutting corners has become routine, and residents pay the price.

This rollback sends a clear message to overworked, underpaid nursing home staff: Their struggle doesn’t matter. It tells residents and their families that the industry’s convenience outweighs their safety. And it ignores decades of evidence showing that adequate staffing saves lives, reduces injuries and improves quality of life.

Instead of bending to pressure from an industry that has long resisted accountability, leaders should stand firmly with residents, families and staff. Safe staffing is not a burden; it is the foundation of compassionate, competent care. Anything less is unacceptable.

Libby Hastings,

Lawrence