Limited nursing home beds force hospitals to keep patients longer
December 1, 2022
The lack of nursing home beds means that U.S. hospitals are caring for patients who don’t need to be hospitalized but have nowhere else to go.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Caring for someone with dementia is difficult. When family members become overwhelmed, many turn to skilled nursing facilities. Staffing shortages nationwide have severely limited the number of nursing home beds available, though. That has forced hospitals to keep patients longer. Vermont Public’s Nina Keck reports.
NINA KECK, BYLINE: Kathy Dick is a retired nurse who lives in Sudbury, Vt. She remembers when she first began to worry about a close friend.
Read/listen to the full story from National Public Radio here.
