As people live longer, the demand for elderly care has reached an all-time high, and widespread concerns about the capacity to care for the growing senior population have arisen. These anxieties are only compounded by the increase in health issues among the elderly during the winter.
A study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation analyzed the number of residents per state in nursing and care facilities was examined data from to identify the states with the best and worst capacity levels for elderly care. The research calculated the number of certified beds in care homes per state based on the number of facilities in each state and the average number of beds per facility. This was then compared to the number of residents per state in nursing and care facilities to identify their capacity rates.
Alaska was found to be the worst state for elderly care, with its nursing and care facilities nearing overcapacity. There were 114.56 beds per 100 residents, which corresponded to 834 beds for 728 care home residents in total.
Following in second was West Virginia, with 115.93 beds per 100 residents. West Virginia reported 10,726 certified beds for 9,252 care home residents.
In third was New York, with 116.30 beds per 100 residents. This figure represented 112,655 certified beds for 96,866 residents overall.Ranking fourth was North Dakota, which reported 116.47 beds per 100 residents. This amounted to 5,244 beds for 4,502 nursing and care facility residents.
Rounding out the top five was Florida, which had 117.41 beds per 100 residents. In total, this corresponded to 84,476 beds for 71,948 residents.
“Economic, healthcare, and staffing challenges may be factors affecting the states struggling the most with elderly care, alongside disparities in the demographics. Many states ranking among the worst for elderly care have some of the largest elderly populations, so resources are stretched thinner as demand is more intense. Additionally, some of the most populated states such as New York, California, and Florida have higher costs of living which can complicate operational expenses or hinder the expansion of care facilities. Consequently, while these states are home to large elderly populations, the high demand and cost pressures can lead to limited per-capita capacity,” said Robert Carichoff, Personal Injury Lawyer for Triumph Law.
