By Healthcare Facilities Today

As the population in Pennsylvania gets older, the demand for more nursing home beds is expected to outpace the supply, according to an article on the Tribune Live website.

“The need is going to be gigantic,” said Eric Trehar, administrator for Lakeview Personal Care Home in Ohioville, Beaver County, which houses 81 residents. “The problem is that the cost is exorbitant in many communities.”

The state is trying to avoid spikes in the nursing home population by funding services that will allow older residents to live independently at home, according to the article.

Pennsylvania had nearly 89,000 nursing home beds in more than 700 nursing homes as of the end of 2012, the article said. On average, according to 2011 statistics, those homes are 90 percent occupied.

There are 1,200 licensed personal care homes and assisted living homes with about 47,000 residents, who need less care than those in a nursing home.

“It's not scientific,” said Dennis Biondo, administrator for the Kane Regional Centers in Allegheny County, of the predictions as to where the needs will be. “It's going to depend on whether or not or how well the financing of alternatives to nursing homes and personal care homes will be available.”

The association said that people 60 and over are expected to make up 25 percent of the total population in Pennsylvania by 2020, more than 3 million people. The number of those 85 or older should grow to more than 360,000 residents.

Read the article.