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The pandemic shined an unflattering light on nursing homes, diminishing occupancy rates and making it harder on families to find help for their loved ones.
In early 2020, nursing homes were a COVID-19 hot spot as COVID-19 cases spread across the country. Nursing homes and similar areas accounted for a fifth of all U.S. COVID deaths.
The median occupancy rate for nursing homes in the U.S. has fallen from 85% in January 2020, right before the pandemic shut down the country, to 68% in January 2021, according to a report from CliftonLarsonAllen, a consulting and accounting firm. The firm used data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The occupancy rate was 74% in September, due in part to vaccinations and declining rates of cases.
Nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities were one of the hardest hit spots in the country during the height of the pandemic. Older Americans were among the most vulnerable groups to contract the coronavirus, along with immunocompromised people, which made remaining in these centers a difficult decision. Families scrambled to see patients, even during halts to visitation hours, or they would try to bring their loved ones home, even if they didn’t have the proper medical equipment to care for them there.
These centers are financially burdened by the lower rates of occupancy as well as the higher rates of staffing hours and the decreasing cost of a bed in these facilities, according to the report. Between January 2020 and January 2021, the median price per bed was 8% lower.
Nursing homes are also suffering from a staffing shortage, which poses a threat to the safety and well-being of their patients and workers. Studies have found the nursing homes that have higher numbers of nursing staff are better equipped to handle COVID-19.
In response, the industry is demanding more funding and resources from the federal government. Some facilities are requesting family members bring their own nurses to help care for loved ones.
“We need state and federal policy makers to properly fund nursing homes, so they can become a more competitive employer,” David Gifford, chief medical officer for the industry group American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living, said in a statement last month.
