New York nursing homes in the national context

• In 2000, 673 licensed nursing homes were operational in New York State with approximately 119,000 individuals residing in New York nursing homes.
• In 1999, 46.3 percent of the nursing homes were for-profit, compared to 54. 8 percent notionally, and 8.1 percent were sponsored by government agencies compared to 6.7 percent nationally.
• Nearly half, 45.6 percent, of the nursing homes were sponsored by non-profit organizations, compared to less than a third, 28.5 percent, nationally. The number of hospital-based nursing homes is also lower than the national experience–five percent in New York compared to 3.2 percent nationally.
• New York does not allow nursing facilities that are owned by publicly traded entities to operate in the state. The reason for this prohibition is that the character and competence review completed by the New York State Health Department for the establishment of nursing homes involves submission of personal information by everyone with an ownership interest in the nursing home. This is not possible when shares of stock are publicly traded.
• The median size of a nursing home in New York State is 160 beds, larger than the national median of 104. These beds were, in 1999, operating at an occupancy rate of 94.9 percent, higher than the national average of 82.5 percent in that year.
• Consistently, New York’s nursing homes have experienced occupancy rates higher than the national average over the past several years and have not shown the recent declines observed nationally.