Medical job providers issue alerts about an annual deficit of 17,000 housing units for nurses.
The Care Employers Association (AGVP) predicts a lack of nursing home spots in the near future, based on their calculations, and urges politics to intervene. "We'll need roughly 17,000 more nursing home spots annually by 2040," stated AGVP President Thomas Greiner. That's about 217 new nursing homes a year. "Instead of expanding and ensuring elderly care's future, we're actually losing spots - around 16,000 last year alone," Greiner lamented.
Certain care insurance companies and politicians aimed to downplay the situation, suggesting that "it's not that dire." However, Greiner argued, "If you have to contact eight homes just to land on a waiting list, it erodes trust in a functional government." He challenged politics and care insurance companies to revise their strategies - or risk losing 450 homes and 33,000 nursing home spots this and the following year.
Looking back, we see that it doesn't always have to be this way. As many as 330 nursing homes offering over 23,000 spots were established annually in 2008 and 2009. Greiner then proposed extensive nursing care reforms that "establish a stable environment for relatives, care recipients, caregivers, and nursing home managers."
The Care Employers Association's prediction of a need for 17,000 more nursing home spots annually by 2040 highlights the impending [shortage]. Greiner also pointed out the concerning trend of losing 16,000 nursing home spots each year, which further exacerbates this [shortage].
