Opinion: Nursing home crisis threatens elder care access
July 24, 2026 | Uncategorized
Brendan Williams
Concord Monitor (July 23, 2026)
In June, the number of people working in the nation’s nursing homes finally exceeded the employment level in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
While this was good news, it’s worth noting that the number of Americans 75 and older — the age demographic most likely to need long-term care — has grown by an estimated 10% to 15% over that period. Ideally, nursing homes employment growth would have kept pace, even with robust home and community-based settings, which nursing home providers support, reserving nursing home care for those needing or wanting it.