Newark, East Orange Nursing Home Workers Push For ‘Safe Staffing’

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Workers at nursing homes in Newark and East Orange joined others around the nation earlier this week to call for “safe staffing” levels at facilities across the United States.

As part of a national “week of action,” several nursing home workers at Sinai Post-Acute Nursing and Rehab Center in Newark and Complete Care at Orange Park in East Orange recently came together in a show of support for their peers around the country. Gathering together, the workers – members of the 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East union – held up signs that read: “Safe Staffing Now: Quality Jobs, Quality Care In All Nursing Homes.”

New Jersey law requires nursing homes and hospitals to report information on the number of staff involved in direct patient care and to publicly post that information within their facilities. Under the 2005 law, nursing homes are required to publicly post information that details direct patient care staffing levels within their facilities. See local statistics for nursing homes in New Jersey here.

But according to Cheryl Hunte, a certified nursing assistant working in Newark, the state’s current regulations aren’t getting the job done.

“My colleagues and I are still often working short,” Hunte said. “We stand in solidarity with nursing home workers across the country who face the same fight.”

“We also need to make sure these jobs remain attractive for future generations of workers by raising wages for all nursing home workers,” Hunte said.

Rhina Molina, a leader with the 1199SEIU New Jersey region, said that when staffing levels are inadequate at nursing homes, it isn’t only workers who suffer – it’s patients and the broader community, too.

“Many workers left the industry because of the low pay and the trauma from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Molina said. “Nursing home workers, patients and families deserve better.”

“We need to combine strong staffing regulations at all levels of government with higher wages for all nursing home workers to make sure that patients can age with dignity and workers are appreciated for the vital work they do,” Molina added.

The nursing home workers affiliated with 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East aren’t the only health care employees calling for better staffing ratios this week.

On Monday, a coalition of nurses and health care employees rallied in Trenton to push for a proposed state law that would create minimum nursing staffing levels in state hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, developmental centers and psychiatric hospitals.

• See Related: NJ Nurses Say They're Overworked, Demand 'Safe Staffing' Law

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