Living Arrangements

Nursing homes provide an option for older adults whose functional limitations and chronic needs are severe. These facilities provide skilled nursing care and rehabilitation services to the elderly as well as younger individuals who are disabled or mentally ill. These are generally stand-alone facilities, but some are operated within a hospital or retirement community. There were approximately 1.56 million nursing home residents in the United States in 1996.

Those living in nursing homes tend to be women (72 percent), over age eighty-five (49 percent), white (89 percent), and widowed (60 percent). A vast majority of residents receive help with three or more ADLs, such as bathing, dressing, toileting, transfers, feeding, and mobility. The majority of residents also tend to have some form of memory loss (71 percent). The most frequently occurring health conditions for nursing home residents over age sixty-five are dementia (51 percent), heart disease (48 percent), and hypertension (40 percent)