Nursing homes struggle amid staff shortages
More than 3,000 beds in Massachusetts nursing homes remain unfilled amid chronic staffing shortages, which is leading to closures and a backlog of open beds in long-term care facilities, according to a new report.
The report by the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, an industry group, highlighted that the state’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities are operating at an average of 93% capacity. More than half of the state’s nursing facilities have intermittently had to deny new admissions, the report’s authors noted.
“The reality is that the staffing shortage is upsetting the entire healthcare system with a backlog of hospital patients awaiting discharge to skilled nursing facilities and family members who increasingly have limited choice or are simply unable to find access to 24-hour skilled nursing facility care within their local community,” MassCare President Tara Gregorio said.
Read the full story from The Eagle-Tribune here.
