The National Nursing Home Survey: 1999 summary

Abstract

Objective: This report presents estimates of nursing homes and their current residents and discharges in the United States. The data are summarized by characteristics of facilities such as information about Medicare and Medicaid certification, bed size, type of ownership, services provided, and per diem rates. Data are also summarized by characteristics of current residents and discharges such as demographic and resident characteristics, health and functional status, services provided, primary diagnosis, and all-listed diagnoses.

Methods: Estimates in this report are from the 1999 National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS), the sixth in a series of surveys. This nationwide sample survey was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from July through December 1999.

Results: About 1.6 million current residents and 2.5 million discharges received nursing home care during 1999. About two-thirds (67 percent) of nursing homes are proprietary (for profit) and are located in the Midwest and South. There were 1.5 million full-time equivalent (FTE) employees providing health-related services to residents. Ninety percent of current residents were age 65 years or over, 72 percent were female, and 57 percent were widowed. Nearly half (46 percent) of current residents were admitted from a hospital. The average length of time since admission for current residents was 892 days. Most nursing home discharges were female (62 percent) and 88 percent were age 65 years and over. The main reasons for most discharges were admission to a hospital (29 percent) and death (24 percent). The average length of stay for a discharge was 272 days.