P5520

Facility Fails to Meet Nurse Aide Staffing Ratios

Quality Life Services - MercerMercer, Pennsylvania Survey Completed on 01-24-2025

Summary

The facility failed to meet the required nurse aide (NA) staffing ratios as mandated by regulations effective July 1, 2024. Specifically, the facility did not maintain a minimum of one NA per 10 residents during the day shift for 21 consecutive days, from December 31, 2024, to January 20, 2025. Additionally, the facility did not meet the required ratio of one NA per 11 residents during the evening shift on 10 out of 21 days within the same period. Furthermore, the overnight shift consistently fell short of the required one NA per 15 residents for all 21 days reviewed. The review of nursing staffing documents revealed specific instances of NA shortages across all shifts. For example, on January 13, 2025, with a census of 44 residents, only 3.88 NAs worked during the day shift when 4.40 were required. Similarly, on January 12, 2025, during the overnight shift, only 2.25 NAs worked when 2.93 were required for a census of 44 residents. These staffing deficiencies were confirmed by the Nursing Home Administrator during an interview on January 22, 2025.

Plan Of Correction

1. The facility was unable to make corrective action for the (nurse aide ratio) for identified days that have already passed. All residents received care in accordance with their care plans and physician orders. 2. Director of nursing or designee will re-educate the labor manager and the Registered nurse supervisors on the 7/1/2024 requirements for Nurse Aide ratios. 3. Facility continues to offer incentives, competitive wages, and several other benefits in an effort to hire for all open positions. 4. Nursing home administrator, DON, and Labor manager will conduct daily staffing meetings Monday - Friday to review (nurse aide ratios) throughout the day, the following day, and the weekend. In the event of vacancies, the Labor Manager or designee will follow staffing policies including offering open shifts to internal staff, contracted agency staff, and offering current staff to stay extra or start earlier. 5. Director of Nursing or designee will audit daily staffing ratios and along with all steps taken to fill vacancies 5 days a week and ongoing. 6. Results of the audits will be reviewed and recorded in the monthly Quality Assurance Performance Improvement meeting.

Penalty

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
See other P5520 citations
Failure to Meet Minimum NA-to-Resident Ratio on a Day Shift
P5520
Short Summary

The facility did not meet required NA staffing ratios on one reviewed day shift. Review of nursing schedules over a multi-week period showed that on a specific day shift, the number of NAs scheduled did not meet the mandated minimum of one NA per ten residents. During a subsequent interview, the DON confirmed that the facility failed to comply with the required NA-to-resident ratio for that shift.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Minimum Night Shift Nurse Aide Staffing Ratios
P5520
Short Summary

Facility administrative staff did not consistently meet required minimum nurse aide staffing ratios on the night shift, as shown by a review of nursing schedules and census data over a multi-week period. On multiple nights, the total nurse aide hours provided were below the calculated hours needed to maintain at least one nurse aide per 15 residents, resulting in several shifts where required coverage was not achieved. The Nursing Home Administrator acknowledged that the facility failed to provide the mandated minimum nurse aide staffing on these night shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Meet Minimum Nurse Aide Staffing Ratios Across Multiple Shifts
P5520
Short Summary

The facility did not meet required minimum NA staffing ratios on multiple day, evening, and night shifts during a reviewed period. Staffing records showed that, with a census of approximately 58–59 residents, actual NA hours on several day and evening shifts, and one night shift, were below the hours needed to achieve mandated ratios of 1 NA per 10 residents on days, 1 NA per 11 residents on evenings, and 1 NA per 15 residents overnight. The DON confirmed that the required number of NAs was not provided on the identified shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Minimum Nurse Aide Day-Shift Staffing Ratios
P5520
Short Summary

Surveyors found that on two reviewed days, the facility did not provide the required minimum number of nurse aides on the day shift relative to the number of residents. Staffing records showed that the nurse aide-to-resident ratio fell below the mandated standard, and the NHA acknowledged that the required nurse aide staffing ratios were not met on those days.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Required NA-to-Resident Staffing Ratios Across Multiple Shifts
P5520
Short Summary

Surveyors found that the facility repeatedly failed to meet required NA-to-resident staffing ratios on multiple day, evening, and night shifts. Review of census and staffing schedules showed that the number of NAs scheduled and providing care was consistently below the minimum required based on the number of residents, with shortfalls documented on numerous shifts across several weeks. There were no additional higher-level staff available to offset these NA shortages, and the Administrator confirmed that the required staffing ratios were not met on the identified shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Minimum Nurse Aide Staffing Ratios
P5520
Short Summary

The facility did not maintain the required NA-to-resident staffing ratios on multiple reviewed shifts, as shown by weekly staffing records and staff interviews. For a census of 28 residents, the facility was required to staff specific minimum NA levels on day and evening shifts but instead scheduled fewer NAs than mandated, and no additional higher-level staff were present to offset the shortfall. The NHA acknowledged that the required NA-to-resident ratios were not met on the identified shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Citation search

Search every citation & Plan of Correction

Go to search
Citation watch

Track new serious citations across Pennsylvania

Get a heads-up on the newest immediate-jeopardy (J–L) citations in Pennsylvania — where surveyors are focused right now.

Free · about one email a month

Trusted data from CMS and state health departments

Every citation, penalty and Plan of Correction is sourced from public CMS records (latest release July 29, 2026) and official state health department websites — never guesswork.

In your survey window? See what surveyors are citing.

The Survey-Prep Report maps your facility's risk from 12 months of CMS and state citation data — what's being cited around you and what to check first. $129 one-time.

Get the Survey-Prep Report
An unhandled error has occurred. Reload 🗙