Associated Press: Ohio nursing homes have 3rd highest mentally ill population

An Associated Press analysis of national public records has concluded that the number of people with mental illnesses living in Ohio nursing homes in the third highest in the nation (Source: “Ohio Nursing Homes Seeing More Mentally Ill Adults,” WCMH/AP,  March 22, 2009).

The number of adults, ages 22 to 64, with a serious mental illness who live in a nursing home in Ohio has grown 39 percent since 2002 and totaled 9,361 last year, according to the report. The state’s growth rate is the 33rd highest in the nation. According to the analysis of records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, nationally there are nearly 125,000 young and middle-aged adults with serious mental illness living in nursing homes.

Peter Van Runkle, executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association, said one reason so many younger adults with mental illness are placed in a nursing home is a Medicaid provision that allows for 30-day convalescent stays after hospital treatment. The rule allows admission with only a doctor’s signature and no face-to-face review.

“They could go back on the street, but in many cases, that is not a safe alternative,” Van Runkle said. “Skilled nursing facilities, for better or worse, end up being the only location for them.”