Think about this telling snapshot of the nursing dwelling sector’s stagnant development: In 1990, the US had 15,000 nursing houses at a time when 3 million People have been age 85 or older. By 2020, that key demographic had greater than doubled to six.3 million, but the variety of expert nursing services remained nearly unchanged.
However might a quiet resurgence be taking root?
On the latest LeadingAge Management Summit, just a few forward-thinking suppliers made it clear that expert nursing isn’t essentially on its deathbed.
Think about Valle Verde in California. For a decade, the management there wrestled with whether or not to shut its expert nursing unit altogether. In the long run, they doubled down — with creativeness and capital. By leveraging a extra beneficiant state reimbursement system and embracing Inexperienced Home-style small houses, they remodeled a once-questionable operation into one which delivers high quality and dignity. Their funding wasn’t simply monetary — it was philosophical.
Or have a look at A.G. Rhodes in Georgia, the place CEO Deke Cateau has thrown out the belief that Medicaid-dependent nursing houses can’t be fashions of high quality. By leaning into single-occupancy rooms, constructing stronger neighborhood connections, and benefiting from considerate fee incentives, he’s created an setting that work s— for residents, workers, and the underside line.
To be clear, this isn’t a comeback tour for each operator. Reinventing or sustaining expert care takes deep dedication, neighborhood help, and a clear-eyed view of native wants. As Kelly Kramer on the Hillview Well being Care Campus in Wisconsin confirmed, success usually comes from asking robust questions on what a neighborhood actually wants — and being prepared to reply in inventive methods. In her case, that meant changing unused area into residences for these vulnerable to homelessness and opening a baby care middle, all whereas sustaining a talented care footprint.
What’s rising shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all mannequin, however a type of renaissance rooted in customization. These leaders aren’t working on autopilot. They’re testing, constructing, breaking down and rebuilding once more. And so they’re doing it whereas many within the subject proceed to see nursing houses as a useless finish.
This doesn’t imply each supplier ought to rush again into expert care. However it does imply it is perhaps time to reexamine the belief that expert nursing has no future. Possibly it’s not out of date — simply overdue for reinvention.
In the event you’re a part of a senior residing group charting the trail forward, maybe it’s time to rethink whether or not expert care deserves a spot in your strategic planning.
John O’Connor is editorial director for McKnight’s Senior Dwelling and its sister media manufacturers, McKnight’s Lengthy-Time period Care Information, which focuses on expert nursing, and McKnight’s House Care. Learn extra of his columns right here.
