By Chris Miller, Assistant Editor, Facility Market

The long-term care industry, especially its nonprofit sector, has faced financial strain throughout the pandemic. Reduced revenues and higher expenditures have increased fiscal pressure. Long-term care facilities had been struggling before COVID-19, but the pandemic is making things worse.

Nationwide, about 550 nursing homes closed between 2015 and 2019, with almost 200 closing  in 2019 alone. Occupancy rates in the United States are also declining. More than a dozen states have seen occupancy rates decline by at least three percentage points, according to a LeadingAge study. Industry officials predict long-term care providers could lose $94 billion over the course of the pandemic, and caution that over 1,800 facilities could ultimately close their doors. Working in long-term care does not seem to be profitable at the moment. Most nursing homes and almost one-half of all assisted living communities are operating at a loss.

Consider the case of the Bergen County (N.J.) Health Care Center, which will close by the end of 2021, according to NorthJersey.com. The 110-bed facility is preparing to consolidate its inpatient services at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, another county-owned long-term care facility. Residents of the center and their families have through Oct. 31 to decide if they want to accept the transfer or not.

The center that is to close by the year’s end is less than one-half full, with 46 residents. Due to its safety policy, It has not accepted new residents since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The number of residents has been diminishing for years due to the trend toward home and community-based services for senior citizens and the disabled. Due to the pandemic, four residents of the facility have died, and 63 were infected during the pandemic. 

Nursing home residents accounted for 40 percent of the coronavirus-related deaths in New Jersey. New Jersey has roughly 370 nursing homes, 75 percent of which are for-profit operations, according to NJ Spotlight News. New Jersey lost nine facilities during this four-year span, which accumulated to about 223 fewer beds available for residents. More than 8.000 long-term care residents and staff died from COVID-19 in the last year in the state.