A New Nursing Home Population: The Young

[KamaAina]

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/09/131912529/a-new-nursing-home-population-the-young

Young people ages 31 to 64 now make up 14 percent of the nursing home population, an analysis of federal data from the Department of Health and Human Services by NPR's Investigative Unit found. That's up from 10 percent just 10 years ago.

The data do not show why this age group is entering nursing homes in such higher numbers, but Michelle Fridley's fight to stay out of a nursing home may provide a clue....

At the time, Fridley was driving home to decorate for her baby shower. Her daughter, Felicia, was born nine days later. Ever since, Fridley, who is now 33, has fought to stay out of a nursing facility and continue living in her own home....

Since her injury, there have been three times when she almost went into a nursing home. One came earlier this year when officials in New York proposed cutting the attendant care program. After Fridley and others protested — and she told her story to New York Gov. David Paterson — the decision was reversed. However, more state cuts are expected next year.

The story is several years old. One hopes that Michelle and her kitteh are still at home.

[Adsos Letter]

1. 31-64?

31-64 is young? I agree that 64 is younger than normally seen in nursing homes, but I wouldn't characterize it as young.

[Ampersand Unicode]

2. 31 is kind of middle-aged, no?

I see a lot of 62-year-olds on the local obits page. Technically, that makes 31 middle-aged if the boomer death rate is increasing. I don't know that it in fact is, just that I've seen a lot of hectagenarians in the death notices in the past few years or so.

[Adsos Letter]

3. It just struck me as odd

I'm 59, and while I don't consider myself ancient, I would hardly characterize myself as young (young at heart maybe).

[SoCalNative]

4. The other issue is

that these are normally the only acute care/long term physical in-patient rehab facilities available, so much younger people often have lengthy stays in them.