Larger Cincinnati nursing houses feeling pandemic’s monetary pressure

Hamilton’s Scott Reynolds flips through the photos wondering where his mother Francene would have gone if her nursing home had closed.

After surviving a battle with COVID-19 last year before Thanksgiving, she passed away at a local nursing home on January 1, 2021.

“They need to have a place to go,” Reynolds said of Ohio nursing home residents. “So we need to focus on keeping these facilities open, as not everyone has the ability or the setup to bring home a loved one.” “”

Now the future of some nursing homes and care facilities in Greater Cincinnati is in doubt after the Ohio Health Care Association said the industry lost so much money during the pandemic that some nursing homes may have to close.

There are two reasons the Ohio Health Care Association said some nursing homes might close: the pandemic has reduced the patient population by 13%, and money is coming in in return. Companies also spend more on personnel and protective equipment.

Managing Director Pete Van Runkle said the industry is already struggling to make money. The profit margins for these care facilities across the country are extremely low, many at 0% or 1%.

“You are about to run out,” he said. “Then you get COVID on top of what decimated the census in facilities where they get their income and they have had to spend money on staff.” and PSA and a variety of different things they need to help fight the disease. “

Van Runkle said these facilities could flow into $ 175 billion in relief funds at the start of the pandemic.

Money has been running low since then, and Van Runkle said the end result is businesses closing.

“The lifeboat that has kept vendors afloat for the past few months, months, will be gone,” he said, “and then we see this potential for really serious problems.”

The National Health Care Association is asking the federal government for an additional $ 100 billion to help keep the facilities financially alive.

“Hopefully this should help us until the vaccine is really effective,” he said.

Reynolds, a advocate For people living in skilled care facilities, he said he may not agree to many rules for visiting care homes during the pandemic, but he sure does not want facilities to be closed. He believes the state could help bear the burden as 63% of nursing home patients benefit from Medicaid.

“We have to focus on what is ahead of us. We cannot afford to close facilities, ”he said.