Nursing homes with higher proportion of Black residents provide lower care levels

"Nursing homes with a higher proportion of Black residents perform worse financially and provide lower-quality care than homes with few Black residents, finds a new study in Health Services Research.
The study's findings suggest that de facto segregation may exist within nursing homes because better performing nursing homes may selectively admit residents based on race and/or payer status, preferring private payers over those using Medicaid, whose users are disproportionately minority group members. Another reason for the segregation may be due to the fact that Black nursing home residents generally choose facilities within their communities.
"As policy makers develop initiatives to improve overall quality, they also need to incorporate solutions that will mitigate racial and ethnic disparities in nursing homes," says lead author Latarsha Chishom, Ph.D., assistant professor of health management and informatics at the University of Central Florida."
Nursing homes with higher proportion of Black residents perform worse financially, says study