Nursing Home Compare Star Rating and Daily Direct-Care Nurse Staffing During Hurricane Irma

Enhancing primary healthcare nurses' preparedness for climate-induced extreme weather events

BACKGROUND

Climate Change is causing frequent and sever extreme weather events globally, impacting human health and well-being. Primary healthcare (PHC) nurses' are at the forefront of addressing these challenges and must be prepared.

PURPOSE

This scoping revieww explored literature on the preparedness of the PHC nursing workforce for extreme weather events and identify gaps in knowledge and practice.

METHODS

Using Arksey and O'Malley's framework, a comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, CINHAL, Web of Sciences, and ProQuest, on studies from 2014-2024, addressing PHC nurses' preparedness.

DISCUSSION

Nine studies were identified and highlighted a need for preparedness training and facility-based preparedness plans. Key themes included prioritizing regional networks, clinical leadership, service delivery, health information, health workforce, medical products and technologies, and financing.

CONCLUSION

Strengthening PHC nurses' resilience against extreme weather requires targeted professional development, mental health support, comprehensive planning, and collaborative efforts. Future strategies should enhance PHC nurses' capacity through training, support, and policy development.

Winter Storm Uri Reduced Availability of Daily Direct-Care Nurse Staff in Texas Nursing Homes

We examined the effect of Winter Storm Uri on daily direct-care nurse staffing levels in 1,173 Texas nursing homes (NHs) from February 13th to 19th, 2021. We used data from Payroll-Based Journaling and the Care Compare website. Linear mixed effects models were used to estimate the linear and non-linear change in staffing. During Winter Storm Uri, Texas NHs experienced a linear decrease in daily staffing levels with subsequent non-linear increase for registered nurses (RNs; p < .001) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs; p < .001), and staffing increased linearly for licensed practical nurses (LPNs; p < .001). Compared to 1 week before the storm, Texas NHs reported lower staffing levels across all three types of staff, but most dramatically among LPNs and CNAs. In supplemental analyses, urban and lower quality NHs fared slightly poorer than rural and higher-quality NHs. Winter storms pose a particular challenge to NHs and their ability to maintain direct-care nurse staffing levels.