Black nursing home residents are one-third more likely tobe hospitalized than their white counterparts, according to universityresearchers who analyzed data on more than 500,000 residents and 9,000facilities recently.
Nearly a quarter (24.1%) of black residents werehospitalized in the study period (2000 onward), while 18.5% of white residentswere hospitalized during the same span. Researchers associated with BrownUniversity’s Albert Medical School said conditions ranged from pressure ulcersto dehydration and malnutrition.
“The percentage of residents who had to behospitalized was strongly correlated with the residents on Medicaid, which alsowas strongly tied to facilities with limited resources,” said lead studyauthor Andrea Gruneir. Her report, which is to appear in the June issue of thejournal Health Services Research, concludes the racial admissions differencescould be lessened by devoting more resources to facilities that most rely onMedicaid funding.
Janet Wells, director of public policy for the NationalCitizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, however, called the disparities”a civil rights issue,” according to a report in the Washington Post.
“A lot of nursing homes with Medicaid residents aregood nursing homes. We see them all over the country,” she said.
