Seniorly, a website that helps older adults find living facilities, used six metrics to determine how well states were equipped to handle older adult care staffing: the median ratio of healthcare providers eligible to work per occupied nursing home bed, nursing home occupancy rates, share of nursing facilities reporting staff shortages, median nursing staff turnover in nursing homes, projected adequacy of the primary care workforce, and home health aid supply. A Z-score distribution was used to scale each metric relative to the mean across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Here are the best and worst states for six metrics:
Note: Some rankings include ties.
Healthcare providers per occupied bed
Best
Alaska: 2.7 providers per resident
Minnesota: 2.3
Wisconsin: 2.1
North Dakota: 2.1
Worst
Georgia: 1.3
Texas: 1.3
New Mexico: 1.4
Missouri: 1.4
Louisiana: 1.4
Illinois: 1.4
Oklahoma: 1.4
Share of nursing facilities reporting any staff shortages
Best
Connecticut: 4%
California: 4%
Massachusetts: 8%
Worst
Alaska: 80%
Minnesota: 64%
Maine: 59%
Nursing home occupancy rate
Highest
West Virginia: 93.8%
North Dakota: 93.7%
New York: 92.8%
Lowest
Oklahoma: 63.8%
Texas: 66.7%
Montana: 69.4%
Nursing staff turnover in nursing homes
Highest
Montana: 67.8%
Missouri: 61.4%
New Mexico: 61.4%
Lowest
District of Columbia: 37.8%
Hawaii: 39.7%
New York: 41.9%
Primary care workforce adequacy
Best
Alaska: 145%
Minnesota: 129%
North Dakota: 119%
Worst
Connecticut: 41%
New Jersey: 50%
New York: 56%
Home health aid supply
Best
New York: 3 older adults per aide
California: 3.3
District of Columbia: 3.4
Worst
Florida: 31.7
Hawaii: 19.4
Georgia: 18.6
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