During Pandemic, Nursing Home Administrators Pondered the Industry’s Survival

Nursing home administrators worried about the future of the industry as they dealt with a spectrum of challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presented in 2020 and 2021, according to study results published online ahead of print in Health Services Research.

The study was based on in-depth interviews with administrators from 40 nursing homes in 8 health care markets across the United States. The interviews were conducted virtually or by phone from July 2020 through December 2021.

“Interviews with nursing home administrators revealed a number of important cross-cutting themes,” wrote researchers from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. “In interviewing each facility’s administrator 4 times over the course of the pandemic, we heard perspectives regarding stages of the pandemic, and how they varied by facility and changed over time.”

The implementation of “frequently changing, confusing, and conflicting” policies by federal, state, and local governments was a frequent theme in interviews, researchers reported. Concerns over resident mental health was another, specifically how visitation, dining, and activity restrictions were leading to cognitive decline, depression, and weight loss.

The pandemic’s effect on nursing home staff was often top of mind as well. Administrators reported widespread challenges in keeping facilities staffed, both in hiring and retaining employees.

As they struggled to deal with pressing issues, interviewees wondered aloud how the nursing home industry would fare over the long term.

“Administrators described concerns for the sustainability of the nursing home industry resulting from the substantial costs and pressures associated with responding to COVID-19, the reductions in revenue, and the negative impact of how nursing homes appeared in the media,” researchers wrote.

Reference:
Gadbois EA, Brazier JF, Meehan A, et al. Perspectives of nursing home administrators across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Serv Res. Published online November 23, 2022. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.14104