RICHMOND, Va. — A state legislator is attempting to create some new laws to address concerns surrounding transparency and staffing in Virginia nursing homes, as the commonwealth's facilities rank among the bottom in the country for average staffing levels, according to federal data.
Del. Rodney Willett, a democrat representing parts of Henrico County, has brought forth two bills in an effort to "maintain the highest quality that we can" in nursing facilities. It's an issue CBS 6 has extensively covered over the past year and a half, as families have complained about care and conditions in record numbers.
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“The theme here is trying to take care of our loved ones," Del. Willett said. “The stories are incredibly troubling, and I think we shouldn’t need stories like that to take more action, but unfortunately what we learned is we did not have adequate oversight.”
Minimum staffing standard
One bill would establish a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes.
The General Assembly previously passed one in 2023, which Governor Youngkin signed into law and was supposed to take effect July 2025, but it has never actually taken effect. That's because the 2023 law included a provision that would repeal the state staffing standard if the federal government enacted its own staffing standard. The federal government did later adopt a more stringent staffing standard, but it was eventually overturned. The legal and regulatory challenges ultimately left the state without its own staffing standard.
“Bottom line is we need to have a staffing ratio in Virginia. We have been behind on that for years," Willett said.
Willett's bill, as is, would require nursing homes to provide at least 3.25 hours, adjusted based on the needs of the residents, of nurse staffing per resident per day. That's higher than the 3.08 hours initially adopted in the 2023 legislation.
“Why did you want to change the number?” reporter Tyler Layne asked.
“Well, that number I will tell you, that’s [to be determined]. We are going to have a number, and as the finer point on that, stay tuned. We will have that. But the most important thing is that we will have a staffing ratio," Willett responded.
“So it may not land on 3.25?” Layne asked.
“We will see. It could, but we will see," Willett said.
When asked what number Willett would prefer, he said he would "defer to the greater experts."
According to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which regulates nursing homes at the federal level, Viginia facilities provide an average of 3 hours and 47 minutes of total nurse staff hours per resident per day. That's below the national average of 3 hours and 54 minutes.
Virginia has a statewide CMS staffing rating average of 2.5-out-of-5 stars, as of December 2025. Only seven other states in the country have a lower staffing rating. CMS calculates the ratings using facilities' reported staffing levels and staff turnover rates. Higher staffing levels and lower staff turnover "may mean higher quality of care for residents," according to CMS.
AARP Virginia, which advocates for seniors, supports Willett's bill.
"For decades, too many nursing home residents have suffered due to chronic understaffing. Yet despite repeated efforts by advocates, Virginia remains one of a small number of states without minimum staffing standards in place," said Jim Dau, AARP Virginia State Director. "This legislation will better ensure that nursing homes can provide timely and much-needed care to some of our most vulnerable Virginians."
However, the Virginia Health Care Association (VHCA), which represents the industry, refrained from saying it supported the bill. Instead, spokesperson Amy Hewett said VHCA "strongly supported" the lower 3.08 staffing standard passed in 2023, which she noted is still going through the regulatory process.
"The Youngkin administration has a regulatory package in process that has yet to be finalized that would make Virginia’s staffing standard effective upon completion of the regulations. Additionally, the legislation passed in 2023 required that the costs of that standard be funded in the Medicaid base rate. To date, the Commonwealth has not appropriated funds for the additional direct care staff costs at the level needed to meet the staffing standard through the Medicaid payment rate," Hewett said. "We know that a strong, stable nursing workforce is critical to high quality resident care in nursing homes. It is imperative that nursing homes have the resources they need to appropriately staff facilities and provide their residents with the high-quality care they deserve."
When asked whether Willett was expecting industry pushback to the proposed staffing minimum, he said, “We’re in discussions on that.”
Ownership disclosure requirements
Willett's other bill would require nursing home owners to disclose to the state much more information about who they actually are and their history of running other facilities.
The move comes months after Governor Youngkin's health commissioner, Dr. Karen Shelton, told lawmakers the department of health collected inadequate ownership and performance insights during the licensure process.
“We’ve also noted that there's been a noticeable increase in the number and changes of ownership in nursing homes over the past few years. Unfortunately, we have relatively little information on these," Shelton said during a July 2025 presentation to lawmakers.
“When she gave you that testimony, did that concern you and prompt you into action?” Layne asked.
“Absolutely, I mean, you could say this is about accountability, and that certainly can be the case, but we should just know who we're dealing with, and especially with a vulnerable population like this," Willett said.
Anytime a facility changes hands, the bill would require the new operator to disclose all direct and indirect owners, the owner of the building, the owner of the operating entity, and related parties that will provide services to the nursing home.
Further, the owners would have to disclose a record of certain financial, regulatory, licensing, and/or criminal trouble for nursing homes they operated or owned within the past five years. The owners would also be required to disclose whether the nursing homes they ran appeared on the federal government's list of the nation's worst-performing facilities.
According to the bill, the health commissioner would be directed to deny a change of ownership application if the owners' previous nursing facilities closed due to licensing or certification action, had bankruptcy or receivership proceedings that weren't dismissed within 60 days, or had its license suspended, denied, or revoked.
Hewett said the VHCA supports this bill and helped develop it.
“This is another one where the nursing homes themselves have said, 'We don't want bad actors here either.' And I think there's this uniform agreement that, yes, in the exceptional time where there [is] someone who really should not be operating these facilities, we need to know that, and this will make that clear. And then we've given the commissioner now the authority to do something about that," Willett said.
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