MANKATO — A new report showed Blue Earth County lost about 20% of its nursing home beds since 2005, part of a pronounced decline in availability in Greater Mankato.
Only one county in the state, Chippewa County, added nursing home beds between 2005 and 2024, according to the report released by the Center for Rural Policy and Development. Chippewa’s uptick was linked to the Minnesota Department of Veterans’ Affairs building a new facility in the county.
Despite the widespread declines in nursing bed availability, the report detailed how demand is projected to increase over at least the next two decades.
Blue Earth County’s peak demand is projected to come in 2055, when an estimated 441 residents age 65 or older will need beds. The report suggests the county currently has 328.
Peak demand is already here in Faribault and Cottonwood counties. It’s expected to hit Waseca County in 2039, while Nicollet County’s peak demand year matches Blue Earth County’s in 2055.
Two reasons identified in the report for the decline in beds included a shift toward alternatives to nursing facilities — home care or assisted living — and workforce shortages. During a panel discussion on the report Wednesday, Kim Brenne of the Minnesota Department of Human Services said the state faces a math problem.
“People are living longer than ever, which is great, but the workforce we rely on for this care has shrunk and continues to shrink,” said Brenne, interim division director of nursing facility rates and policy at the agency.
Erin Huppert, vice president of advocacy at LeadingAge Minnesota, called on elected leaders to recognize Minnesota is an aging state and align priorities and policies in response to it.
“This is really an opportunity for them to think boldly and differently about how we care for a growing population of older adults,” she said.
LeadingAge and Care Providers of Minnesota advocated for legislation to fund about a $5 per hour increase in pay for nursing home workers. It would’ve gone a long way toward making providers be competitive in a tight labor market, Huppert said, but the legislation didn’t get passed.
“We continue to make the case that that’s something that needs to be done in 2025,” she said.
Panelists representing home care and long-term care shared how reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid aren’t keeping up with costs. Rural patients are more likely to use these government health insurance programs, according to the report.
Barb Jezorski, a registered nurse, is chief operating officer for a home care organization known as TRU Healthcare. Agencies can’t survive if the majority of their clients are on Medicaid, she said.
“You can’t survive on that reimbursement,” she said.
Delays between services provided and reimbursements also pose challenges for facilities, said Jason Anderson, director of long-term care services at Sanford Canby Medical Center. It can take 18 to 24 months.
“We’re not really getting it based on our costs in real time,” he said. “It’s a little bit delayed in that aspect.”
The report notes the Center for Rural Policy and Development will continue to study long-term care issues to provide guidance and policy options over the next year. To read the report, go to www.ruralmn.org.