State Offers a Wide Range of Nursing Home Choices

NJBIZ, Sep 3, 2007 by Daks, Martin C

Industry Report

AS NEW JERSEY'S population ages, an increasing number of individuals are likely to start looking closely at nursing home care as an option. Fortunately for them and their loved ones, the state offers plenty of choices, from the Roosevelt Care Center in Edison-the state's largest facility with 416 beds-to smaller ones like the 180-bed Lincoln Specialty Care Center in Vineland.

In all, New Jersey had 341 certified nursing facilities with a total of 47,966 beds in 2005, the most recent year available according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on health care issues.

Most of the facilities in New Jersey, 64 percent, are run by profit-making organizations, while 30 percent are owned by nonprofits and 6 percent are government owned. Nationally, 66 percent are run by for-profits, 28 percent are owned by nonprofits and 6 percent are run by government entities.

On average, the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) gives New Jersey's nursing homes good marks for their services, based on the department's Nursing Home Report Card for the two-year period of May 1,2005, through April 30, 2007. New Jersey facilities rated an average of 91.7 out of a perfect 100, according to the DHSS report, which is based on unannounced, on-site licensure and Medicare/Medicaid certification inspections.

Individuals may wish to look into long-term care insurance to pay for their stay at a nursing home, says Thomas Begley Jr. of the Moorestown law firm Begley & Bookbinder.

"According to the Genworth Financial 2005 Cost of Care Survey, only about 9 percent of the elderly have private long-term care insurance," he says. "Premiums for long-term care insurance are high. However, the cost of the premiums is relatively low compared to the cost of payment for a nursing home."

E-mail to mdaks@npiz.com