Nursing Home Beds Declining: The results of a study published on March 1, 2023 in JAMA Network entitled “Trends in Supply of Nursing Home Beds, 2011-2019” found that the number of nursing home beds in the United States declined between 2011 and 2019: “the supply of nursing home beds per 10 000 adults aged 65 years or older per county declined from 2011 to 2019 in 86.4% of US counties, by a mean of 129.9 beds from 552.5 beds in 2011. The share of 4- and 5- star beds also decreased, likely driven by an increasing number of low-quality beds where bed supply increased.”
The study involved an analysis of 15, 564 nursing homes across 2,916 counties in the United States that represented 166,1 276 nursing home beds in 2011. In 2011, there were a mean of 558.7 beds per 10, 000 adults aged 65 years or older. In 2019, the mean number decreased to 445.2 (a relative decrease of 20.3%).
The study found that the population-adjusted supply of nursing home beds decreased, driven by both a decrease in the absolute number of nursing home beds and an increase in the population aged 65 years or older (the increase in population was more pronounced than the decrease in beds). The number of nursing beds increased in 147 counties and there was no change in 9 counties. From 2011 to 2019, the absolute number of nursing home beds decreased by 1.5%, from 1, 668 ,761 beds to 1, 644, 034 beds, while the population of adults aged 65 years or older during the same period increased by 28.2%, from 39 ,607, 672 adults to 50, 783, 796 adults.
The study found that where the supply of nursing home beds declined, the percentage of beds that were for-profit or 4- or 5-star rating increased by less than 1 percentage point over the study period. However, in counties where the supply of nursing home beds increased, the share of beds that were for-profit grew by 2.3 percentage points and the share of beds that were 4- or 5-star declined by 5.5 percentage points in these counties.
“When examining trends from 2011 to 2020 as a sensitivity analysis, we observed a more dramatic decrease in the number of beds per 10 000 adults aged 65 years or older than when examining trends from 2011 to 2019 (158.4 vs 113.5, respectively).”
“The broad decline in nursing home bed supply, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, may impede access to care and contribute to worsening outcomes for the growing population that relies on nursing homes for postacute care after hospitalization. Over 40% of Medicare beneficiaries receive care in nursing homes after a hospitalization … Given prior evidence suggesting that for-profit nursing homes are associated with lower quality of care, areas with increasing supply of beds may not necessarily reflect an increase in supply of high-quality beds.”
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of nursing home negligence in the United States due to a nursing home infection, nursing home fall, nursing home aspiration, nursing home neglect, nursing home negligence, nursing home abuse, nursing home understaffing, or the nursing home failing to properly care for a vulnerable adult, you should promptly find a medical malpractice lawyer (nursing home lawyer) in your state who may investigate your nursing home medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a nursing home medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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