HARTFORD, CONN (WTIC Radio)-During a hearing of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, people testified that it's critical that nursing home staffing ratios be increased as residents are suffering from inadequate care.
State Representative Mitch Bolinsky(R-Newtown)explained that his mother suffered from dehydration while in a nursing home, became infected
and passed away "unnecessarily in an understaffed nursing facility." He said it's critical to maintain the minimum 3 hours a day level and in the next session a measure will be introduced to increase the level to 4.1.
Christine Moretti told a similar story about her father being "overmedicated to keep him in Bed." She said he suffered from Alzheimer's disease and needed a Hoyer lift to get him out of bed. She also said it took staff twenty minutes to find a bed pan, lacking them for patients.
Nursing homes have been criticized for lack of staff. Moretti, a home care aide with 20 years' of experience, found aides that were burned out and on the verge of quitting because of the huge patient load.
