ACNHA's Research Brief: Admission and Discharge Patterns of Nursing Home Residents: Fid-Bau Portal

ACNHA's Research Brief: Admission and Discharge Patterns of Nursing Home Residents

G. Koenig / S. Wood

The findings of a national survey of nursing home admission and discharge patterns, conducted by the American College of Nursing Home Administrators (ACNHA) in March 1976, are summarized. A questionnaire in the ACNHA newsletter requested information on the number and types of admissions and discharges for the month of February 1976 in members' long-term care facilities. A total of 449 usable responses were received. The data show that the number of admissions and discharges increased with the size of the facility, and that admissions and discharges per facility tended to balance each other when compared by facility size. Thirteen facilities with a bed capacity of 100 or less and 2 facilities with 101 or more beds had no admissions or discharges during the month studied. The vast majority of admissions were from hospitals, and the majority of discharges were to hospitals or because of death. It is noted that, in spite of a flu epidemic, more patients were admitted from hospitals than were discharged to hospitals, and more were discharged to their homes than were admitted from their homes. Mental institutions accounted for only one percent of all admissions and discharges, a finding said to support the theory that the problems and characteristics of nursing home residents differ from those of patients in mental institutions. Larger facilities had more admissions from hospitals and from private hospitals, more discharges to hospitals and to other nursing homes, and fewer deaths and discharges to private homes than did smaller facilities. Supporting tabular data are included. A copy of the questionnaire is not provided.