DataPoint: Nursing Home Occupancy Trends

Median nursing home occupancy remains in the mid-90s in most regions of the State. Based on an analysis of weekly bed availability reports, statewide median occupancy decreased from 96.4 percent in July 2009 to 95.0 percent in July 2014. Long Island and the Hudson Valley were the only two regions with 2014 medians below 95 percent. The largest 5-year change was on Long Island where the median dropped from 96.6 to 93.1 while the Rochester region reported higher occupancy in 2014 (96.0 percent) than in 2009 (95.0 percent). The New York City median stands at 95.7 percent. 

Over recent months, upstate regions saw a slightly increasing trend while downstate figures remained steady or saw a slight drop. Note that median values are an accurate way to gauge the experience of individual homes, but may not be the best measure of aggregate bed use. Graphs depicting this data as well as recent individual home bed availability figures and county averages are available here.

Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841