Washington’s staffing standards for nursing homes, on average, already exceed the proposed federal staffing minimums. But Friday’s announcement drew mixed reactions among groups affiliated with the state’s approximately 200 nursing homes, which care for roughly 12,000 people. The announcement comes as President Biden has pledged to improve the country’s long-term care system for the growing aging population, and in the wake of the deadliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic that disproportionately impacted nursing home residents and workers.
