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Number of elderly living in nursing homes on decline
Posted
1-31-2000 New York. America may be graying, but beds in nursing homes are going unused, according to a recent study published in the journal Health Affairs. "New options that provide lower-level care-such as adult day care and assisted living-have grown in prominence," said Christine Bishop, PhD, of Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. The study compared figures from the most recent National Nursing Home Survey in 1995 with those from 1985 and found that the percentage of Americans ages 65 and over who lived in nursing homes fell from 4.6 in 1985 to 4.2 in 1995. While the prevalence of disability among the elderly is declining, Bishop said, this does not account for the drop in nursing home use. And overall, there were more nursing home beds available in 1995 than in 1985. One factor contributing to the decrease in nursing home residents is the increased availability of home care and assisted living. According to Bishop, many elderly who would have been in nursing homes are receiving in-home care or are moving to assisted-living facilities where they can receive lower-level care without being institutionalized. Nursing homes are increasingly serving two groups of the elderly: those with the most severe disabilities and those who make temporary stays after hospitalization. The latter group now makes up about 11 percent of nursing home residents. Pointing out that access to home care was facilitated by Medicare changes, Bishop noted that recent and upcoming policy changes may also affect where the elderly live.
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