Oklahoma nursing homes face uncertain future with less staffing, burnout, and more patients

Nursing homes across the country are facing a scary future: fewer staff projected over the next few decades, and more and more people who will need long-term care.

Here in Oklahoma, the crisis is impacting people living in facilities. Those working as nurses say if things don’t change, there could be dire consequences.

“She’s a beloved woman, she’s always been a force in my life," Shaina Zeff said. "She's just an incredible person.”

Shaina Zeff can’t help but gush about her grandmother, Rita Zeff.

She said Rita is a ray of light who loves her family and Shaina's daughter deeply.

“She’s a positive light," Shaina said. 

Rita's health declined after she went to a rehab center and was forced to stay there during the COVID lockdowns.

“She rapidly declined," she said. "She went in walking, and by the time quarantine was over, she wasn't able to walk.”

So last year, Shaina had no choice but to put her grandmother in a Tulsa long-term care facility.

She said things were going okay until she got news that her grandmother had been dropped by a staff member last month. 

 “She has a fracture on her femur. Besides hurting her face, her hands, she's bruised from head to toe," Shaina said. 

Shaina said Rita requires two people to carry her, but this nursing home didn’t have that policy.

“These policies need to change," she said. "The CEOs are getting paid quite a bit, but the staff, the nurses, the techs, the CNAs, they’re working 20 hours sometimes.”

“When a healthcare worker can go to McDonald's and make more money flipping hamburgers than taking care of your grandma in a nursing home, that’s a problem," said Roy Timmons. 

Roy Timmons has worked in nursing homes and hospice for more than a decade and says this is a huge issue.

He said staff often get burnt out and then leave the industry.

“They’re constantly understaffed, overworked, you may have one nurse trying to take care of 20-30 patients," Timmons said.

Data from the Health Resources and Services Administration said federal authorities project to see a shortage of more than 63,000 nurses by 2030.

U.S. Census data said the number of Americans aged 65 and older is expected to increase from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050.

“Everything is becoming corporate-owned, and with corporations, it's all about the dollar," Timmons said.

Roy said he plans on running for the state House of Representatives to try and implement better staffing ratios and more safety for patients.

“People who work in nursing homes do it because they care about people; it's not about money," Timmons said. 

Shaina can now monitor Rita after installing a camera in her room, and urges people to pay close attention to their loved ones.

“If that $20 to $30 purchase of a camera can give you peace of mind in knowing people are telling the truth, are being cared for how they deserve to be cared for, it's so imperative that people really think it through before putting loved ones in those facilities, to take those precautions," said Shaina. 

A nurse salary research report from Nurse.com showed that among nurses considering leaving their jobs, most said higher pay would keep them in the industry, followed by more work-life balance.

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford wants to change staffing requirements at nursing homes that accept Medicare or Medicaid.

The staffing requirements were put in place to keep people safe, but the people who run nursing homes said it will be nearly impossible to meet the new staffing requirements because it's already a struggle to hire people.

Lankford and the owners of long-term care facilities say the rule is overreaching and could make it really tough for homes in rural areas.

Nursing home leaders said the changes have to be system-wide and include funding, not just with forced mandates.

The nursing home where Shaina said the abuse happened was Zarrow Pointe. At the time of this publishing, the nursing home had not answered our request for comment.