NEW YORK: As the senior population grows, it’s easy to think that nursing homes will be popping up everywhere. In fact, the opposite is true. After booming for much of the late 20th century, the number of skilled nursing homes in the United States has flatlined at about 15,000 for more than a decade. By 2021, that figure could shrink by 20 percent.
That means more and more Americans will be forced to consider new ways to get the kind of care once found almost solely in nursing homes. Blame this on the new math of health care, the growth of alternatives to skilled care facilities, and rising lifespans…