Post-Acute Care Staff Perspectives of Changes Since the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a lasting impact on nursing home (NH) care in the United States. Although we know much about the impact of COVID-19 on long-term care in NHs, less is known about post-acute care (PAC) units. During the pandemic, hospitals restricted many procedures, resulting in less utilization of PAC services,1 especially in NHs.2 Declines in PAC admissions had a cascading impact on the NH sector, hastening the closure of some NHs that relied on PAC revenue.3,4 This accelerated a trend of decreasing availability of PAC beds in NHs, reserving this setting for highly complex patients.