More Than 3,500 Beds Lost to Nursing Home Closures Since 2020
In Massachusetts, nursing home closures are on the rise, and 34 facilities have permanently shut their doors since 2020, according to a report by the Viability and Sustainability of Long-Term Care Facilities Task Force. This amounts to a total loss of 3,515 beds so far.
But the number of elderly people in the Commonwealth is also rising and is expected to nearly double by 2050. We take a look at the statistics and what they might mean for your family below.
The Risk of Fewer Future Nursing Home Beds
At this rate, research shows that Massachusetts is likely to experience a skilled nursing bed shortage by 2035, meaning there won’t be enough spots for the number of people who will need them. The need for specialized dementia and Alzheimer’s care is also expected to increase, with the latter going up by 25% alone.
What’s Causing the Shortage?
Massachusetts Association of Residential Care Homes president Ron Pawelski said in a memo included with the above report that one of the major contributors to the loss of nursing home beds is a lack of funding from public assistance programs.
In fact, the cost of care for residents who are on Medicare and Medicaid is roughly $20 to $40 more per day than what the facility gets reimbursed. Not having enough funding boils down to understaffing and poor training practices, which ultimately affect the quality of care nursing home residents receive.
Nursing Home Staffing by the Numbers
Currently, there are 38,782 licensed beds across all Massachusetts long-term care facilities. However, only about 38,000 beds are adequately staffed. That leaves almost 800 beds and residents without the care they need.
The task force report outlines how many nurses should be hired, and as many as 5,000 new direct care workers will be needed to overcome existing and future shortages. This breaks down to an extra 744 nurses working eight hours every day, and a minimum of 244 of them need to be registered nurses with at least a bachelor’s degree.
Further Reading: How Understaffing Contributes to Negligence and Abuse in Nursing Homes
How the Bed Shortage Could Impact Your Family
If you have an elderly family member, you may have difficulty finding a quality nursing home for them in the next ten years. With 800 of the Commonwealth’s available beds being insufficiently staffed, this may even be happening to your family now.
If your loved one is already in a long-term care facility, they may be at a higher risk for nursing home abuse and neglect. Cases of physical abuse, sexual abuse, theft, and mistreatment are more common in facilities without adequate funding.
Higher Pay for Nursing Home Staff Is Necessary
The report concluded by encouraging the Commonwealth to invest more money into rates paid to nursing homes for residents on public assistance. This should translate directly into higher pay for facility workers, 90% of whom are women and 50% of whom are people of color.
Investment into career advancement opportunities is also recommended to make continuing education and licensure more accessible to minorities and other nursing home staff. An initiative to cover the cost of tuition for direct care staff who want to become LPNs is already underway, along with a 200-hour training course for non-English-speaking CNAs and home health aides.
Addressing Facility Maintenance and Infrastructure Concerns
In addition to funding staff, the task force recommends that Massachusetts also take into consideration the fact that facilities currently have great difficulty accessing the capital they need to make repairs to crumbling infrastructure.
Of the 34 nursing home closures that have occurred in the last five years, many of these were due to poor maintenance and inhabitability. More funds are needed, whether they be in the form of grants or affordable loans that can be paid back over time.
Was Your Loved One Hurt in a Massachusetts Nursing Home?
If your family member was injured or neglected in a Massachusetts nursing home, our legal team can help. Contact our experienced nursing home abuse attorneys today by calling (978) 744-8000 or (855) 693-9084.
