Packing Up, Moving Out: Seniors are Leaving the Nursing Home Behind

Making the rounds is an Associated Press article (read it on CBS News) that shows the move toward leaving the nursing home in favor of home care or assisted living. At first daunting, the freedom these former residents experience to come and go, eat meals whenever they choose, and become more involved in daily life is helping them thrive outside permanent residence in the nursing home.

This trend goes against the inertia that keeps residents in nursing homes permanently– even those residents who were originally admitted for short term stays.

Hospitals tend to discharge patients to nursing homes rather than look for more appropriate alternative care options that might be in short supply, said a spokeswoman for the federal Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services quoted in the article. But because seniors are able to get the care they need through new home care options, it may be a trend with some legs. And, caring for seniors in the home or living center can cuts costs by half. State officials in New York hope to get a federal waiver this summer that will let up to 5,000 elderly and disabled nursing home residents on Medicaid get the same care elsewhere.