This joint Harvard-Brown project will examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the care of vulnerable older adults in nursing homes across a range of dimensions including disparities, access to care, staffing, occupancy, and facility closures. It is focused on the pandemic’s long-term effects in this setting. “The pandemic has lifted the veil on what has been an invisible social ill for decades.” The study will examine how the pandemic has changed the operation of nursing homes and their effects on patients by examining the impact of the pandemic on nursing home admission patterns, occupancy, case-mix, payer mix, length of stay, and facility closures and sales. It will also examine how the pandemic altered access to nursing home care for older adults, particularly for those living in rural areas, how the pandemic influenced staffing levels and turnover at nursing homes and finally, how the pandemic impacted post-acute and long-term care quality at nursing homes and quality of care for individuals now receiving services in the community.
