Resource constraints faced by nursing home care in the United States during pandemic
Before knowing about the constraints faced by Nursing homes during Covid-19, lets understand “what Nursing homes are and who have been using it?”
Nursing homes are a form of long-term care institution for persons who do not require hospitalization but cannot live independently due to medical reasons. Although the majority of nursing home residents are old, younger persons with mental or physical problems may also be admitted. The majority of nursing facilities in the United States are certified by both Medicare and Medicaid, with only a small percentage being certified by one or the other. In 2019, the United States has over 15,000 nursing facilities, with about two-thirds of them being for business. In the United States, there were 105 nursing home beds per 1,000 persons during that year. Henry J Carter was the skilled care home chain with the most certified beds as of 2021. In 2019, about 1.6 million people worked in nursing care institutions. [1]
Who live in Nursing homes or for whom has it been designed?
Almost half of all nursing home residents are 85 years old or older. Residents under the age of 65 make up a small percentage of the population. The majority are women (72 percent), and many of them are single (almost 70 percent are widowed, divorced, or were never married). Many people only have a small circle of relatives and friends to lean on for assistance. [2]
This website is designed to highlight the constraints faced by Nursing homes during the pandemic Covid-19. The visualizations are made based on data provided by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
About Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offers health coverage to more than 100 million individuals. The CMS aims to update and strengthen the nation's health-care system in order to increase access to high-quality care and better health at a lower cost. [4]
15.2 K
Total Nursing house in the USA
70 %
Average bed occupancy
(May 20 - Mar 22 )
5.7 %
Decline in Nursing care staff over the years
(May 20 - May 21)
4.4 %
Increase in Nursing assistant salary
(2020 - 2021)
COVID-19 Crisis Advances Efforts to Reimagine Nursing Homes
Nursing facilities' long-simmering troubles spilled out when the epidemic struck. "There is agreement that, in general, America's nursing homes are not designed, operated, or funded to deal effectively with infectious disease epidemics, and their staff are often too few in number and inadequately paid, protected, and trained," wrote Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, and coauthors in a commentary last year. [3]
Fulmer, a geriatric nurse practitioner, is the president of The John A. Hartford Foundation in New York City, which works to improve the care of the elderly. COVID-19 shone a sharp light on her field, which she claims is typically overlooked until tragedy hits. However, with that attention came a chance. Fulmer called the outbreak "a chance to fundamentally reconsider and rebuild the way we handle skilled care institutions in our country" in an interview with JAMA. The foundation stepped in and provided emergency funding to a number of important projects. Fulmer said, "We acted as rapidly as we could, pulling the levers we could." [3]
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Right now, the long-term care sector is experiencing unstable funding, severe staffing pressures, and an unworkable capital redevelopment program that are making it difficult for operators to proceed. [4]