Factors Associated with Assisted Living Facility Closure

This study adapted a model developed for the nursing home market for the ALF market to examine the organizational, internal, and external factors associated with closure.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data on 1,939 ALFs operating in 2013 from Florida were used to estimate a logistic regression to examine the organizational, internal, and external factors that were associated with closure between 2013 and 2015.RESULTS: During the two-year study period, 141 ALFs (7.3%) closed. Significant factors associated with increased odds of closure included fewer beds, not accepting Medicaid, and more deficiencies. Two factors (market concentration and population density) were marginally significant.DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The results of this study confirm the usefulness of a model that includes organizational, internal, and external factors to predict ALF closure. These outcomes highlight the concerns that closure can affect access to community based long-term care, especially for rural older adults, and indicate an expansion of Medicaid acceptance in ALFs could be protective against closure.PMID:34314487 | DOI:10.1093/geront/gnab105
Source: The Gerontologist - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Source Type: research