Challenging times facing nursing homes in Kansas are emblematic of the national trend caused by staffing shortages.

About one-fourth of nursing homes in Kansas have been labeled ‘problem’ facilities – that’s about 77 of the state’s 306 buildings. About six in 10 of Kansas nursing homes are owned by for-profit companies; three-fourths of the troubled homes were for-profit.

The Long-Term Care Community Coalition used the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) five-star quality rating system to arrive at the statistic; the score is based on inspection reports, staffing levels and other quality measures.

These problem facilities were noted as having substandard care and persistent compliance issues, according to a report originally in the Kansas Reflector.

About 24.6% of nursing homes across the country were deemed problem facilities after receiving a one-star rating.

Kansas currently ranks 46th in the nation in terms of staffing long-term care facilities, according to Dan Goodman, executive director of Kansas Advocates for Better Care. At least 57 facilities in the state have either closed or reduced their services since the start of the pandemic, a report from LeadingAge Kansas found.

There’s a correlation between low staffing levels and the use of medication to control nursing home residents in the state, a national trend that CMS has been working to curb, reducing inappropriate medications and giving rise to physician groups focused on medication management.

Goodman told the Reflector that real estate investment firms have been buying into the nursing home industry, and that operators of these companies don’t have a background in health care delivery.

“There’s a reason why this group of people are coming in and buying facilities,” Goodman told the Kansas News Service. “They’re seeing an opportunity here.”

Staffing shortages in the state have also contributed to the failure to deliver routine care like using the restroom, and may extend to the frequency of dangerous falls, the report found. The Kansas News Service followed a nursing home resident’s falls over the course of a couple months, in which state regulators became involved.

The state determined that the unnamed facility failed to ensure the resident maintained a non-weight bearing status, putting her at risk for injury and pain. This resident’s experience is relatively commonplace in the state, according to the Kansas News Service. So much so that the news outlet didn’t bother naming the operator.

What’s more, the facility’s current staffing ratios would exceed the new federal minimum requirement of the mandate, according to the report. Fewer than 40% of Kansas nursing homes currently meet the new requirements, an analysis by Kaiser Family Foundation found.

The new staffing mandate would cost Kansas facilities an extra $25.72 in labor expenditures per resident, per day, according to LeadingAge Kansas.