Pennsylvania’s elder care advocates are warning of a crisis as dozens of nursing homes are closing their doors and the commonwealth confronts a rapidly graying population.
Many of the Keystone State’s nursing home operators are saying that chronic Medicaid underfunding and workforce shortages have weakened them and forced them to reduce the number of residents they serve, according to a new survey.
“The evidence of an urgent crisis is right in front of us,” Gary Pezzano, president and CEO of LeadingAge PA, which conducted the survey, said in an April 7 statement. “Where are these individuals going for the level of care they need, as long-term care providers are forced to turn away admissions?”
The January survey of 123 nursing home operators found that 10% had permanently taken beds out of commission over the past year, and nearly 30% had left some existing spaces unfilled. About half of respondents said they’d recently had to turn away someone referred to them from a hospital.
What’s the bigger picture of aging in Pennsylvania?
The commonwealth’s population is aging, with the number of residents older than 84 expected to double by 2050, according to estimates from the Pennsylvania State Data Center.
But representatives of LeadingAge PA voiced concern that nursing homes aren’t building capacity to meet growing needs.
Since 2020, at least 37 nursing homes in the state have shut down, and more than 4,300 beds in these facilities have been eliminated, the organization reported.
What do elder care advocates think is going wrong?
More than two-thirds of survey respondents said their nursing homes have five or more vacant direct care staff positions, a finding that LeadingAge PA attributed to persistent workforce shortages.
The providers said they were struggling to recruit qualified staff, unable to offer competitive wages and finding that many people didn’t want to work certain shifts or hours.
Nearly three-quarters of the respondents said these staffing gaps forced them to limit admissions, and about 30% reported closing down building space as a result.
Advocates identified lagging Medicaid reimbursement rates as another leading problem, noting that about 70% of nursing home residents depend on the federal safety net program.
The organization is urging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to adjust Medicaid reimbursement rates to provide an investment of more than $274 million for the commonwealth’s nursing homes. State lawmakers are deliberating over the yearly spending plan, which is supposed to be approved before July 1. Politicians have failed to mee the constitutionally mandated deadline for four straight years.
