MINNEAPOLIS, March 21 (UPI) -- A survey of 275 Minnesota nursing homes found one in four of the state's extended-care facilities is losing money and is in danger of closing.
Nine nursing homes closed their doors in Minnesota last year and more than 30 have gone out of business in the past decade, said a report by the firm of Larson, Weishair and Co. The firm performs accounting services for about 200 of the state's nursing homes.
The number of nursing home beds statewide has fallen by nearly 10,000 since 1987 to 38,000.
Many of the nursing homes closed had outdated facilities and lacked resources to modernize deteriorating buildings.
The survey found around 100 of the state's 402 nursing homes -- many in northwestern Minnesota -- were in jeopardy because of rising costs and cuts in state and federal funding.
"We can't say how many nursing homes will go out of business," John Racek of Larson, Weishar and Co. told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The report said more elderly are opting for assisted living apartment or home health care.
