The Slow Death Of Nursing Homes
The growth in nursing home options has been especially noticeable in assisted living. These units typically provide an individual apartment, meals in a common dining area, and on-site medical help. The number of assisted living buildings has more than doubled in the last decade in Minnesota.
Bob Held of the Minnesota Department of Human Services says more people now live in these sorts of apartments than in nursing homes, some 45,000 versus 35,000 in nursing homes. "There's been a long-standing desire or goal on the part of the state to shift where care takes place and to reduce the number of nursing home beds," says Held. He says the state policy is popular, since most seniors prefer home care or assisted living to nursing homes. Held says the policy includes a moratorium on adding new nursing home beds in Minnesota, except in special circumstances.
The shift in elder care has caused more than 50 nursing homes to close in the state in the last decade. Some people in the industry wonder if that's too rapid a pace. Held says he and others must make sure enough nursing homes remain to handle future needs. That includes the demands of an aging population bubble known as the baby boom. Held closely watches supply and demand. He compares the number of people needing nursing home care with the actual number of nursing home beds in the state. He says any bed shortage is still years in the future.
"It looks like we're pretty safe until about 2015," says Held. Still Held says the state is considering some shifts in policy to slow the rate of nursing home closures. Right now the state offers several incentive programs to owners to encourage them to close their nursing homes. One proposal would allow state officials to suspend the incentives in parts of the state if they decide there are too few nursing home beds in that area to meet demand.
Source: Minnesota Public Radio, Mark Steil, 11/16/06
