1,465,000 residents

According to the 1997 National Nursing Home Survey, there were 1,465,000 residents age 65 and older in nursing homes (about 4.3% of the US population age 65 and older in 1997). Nearly three-fourths of these residents were women, and about one-half were age 85 and older.

In 1997, about 75% of all nursing home residents 65 and older required assistance in three or more activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, eating, transferring from bed to chair, and using the toilet. About 42% of nursing home residents were diagnosed with dementia, and 12% had other psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia and mood disorders.

Utilization

Lengths of stay in nursing homes vary widely and can be measured in different ways. Many people enter for brief stays; in 1997, 67% of people who left nursing homes had stayed for three months or fewer. However, the same data show that, of all those currently living in a nursing home in 1997, only 18% had been there fewer than three months (see Figure 1).

We believe that SimplyHome can help some people who may ultimately need to move to a nursing home, stay in their OWN homes longer. They may be living independently, or semi-independently (i.e., with visits from home health workers).

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