The future of nursing home care

To the Editor: The possibility that 43 percent of all persons 65 years of age or over will spend some time in a nursing home, as reported by Kemper and Murtaugh (Feb. 28 issue),¹ underscores the dramatic change in the use of nursing homes. Given the enormous burden of long-term care facing society, recommendations to explore new models of care delivery² are well founded. The need to redefine care is not aided, however, by the implication that people in nursing homes need primarily hotel services and that safe care can be delivered “with fewer requirements for the presence and oversight.