Post acute care staffing ratio

what are your ratios?
in "my" facility I medicate 19 patients, IV, 2 trach PT, lots of pain meds, asthma treatments, paper documentation and paper orders (!!!!).
on the unit, day tour, there are typically total 3 RNs/Lpn - one charge ( who helps with treatments if not too busy with admissions/discharges) and 2 med nurses. I often pass 10 am meds from before 9am to 1 pm.
is it legal? what can I do ( besides quitting?)
my DON told me today that she is covered and 19 medicating 19 patients is normal in Nursing Homes
Is it?
Nope, medicating 19 patients is *not* normal in a nursing home setting. That's actually far *fewer* people to medicate than your average med pass.Medicating 25-30 is far more common. And if you were on a LTC wing, those number creep closer to 40.And having a charge who doesn't have a med pass of her own, and is willing to help on the floor, is rare as well. You're facility has above average staffing, even for a subacute unit, and there's definitely nothing illegal in what you described.

How is it possible to give meds to 40 people all scheduled for 10 am within the required 2 h window? When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.Maya AngelouRead more at When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. - Maya Angelou at BrainyQuote

It sounds as if you work in the subacute rehab wing of a nursing home or a short-term post-acute Medicare unit in an LTC/SNF facility.What you describe is normal and legal. California is the only state that has legally mandated nurse/patient ratios, and these laws only apply to acute care hospitals, not post-acute settings such as subacute rehab, LTC and SNF.The other 49 states have no legally mandated nurse/patient ratios.

Quote from aniutkaHow is it possible to give meds to 40 people all scheduled for 10 am within the required 2 h window? When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.Maya AngelouRead more at When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. - Maya Angelou at BrainyQuote