US nursing homes shut down amid COVID-19 staffing crunch: report

LOS ANGELES - More than 300 nursing homes across the United States have closed or are winding down operations since 2020, said a report of USA Today.

Nursing homes that serve primarily poor residents in urban and rural areas have been hit the hardest, said the report, adding the closures could complicate reform efforts by the federation government to improve staffing levels.

"It's a result of the values of our society - we just don't value taking care of old, poor people," said Danny Williams, president and CEO of Eliza Bryant Village, a nursing home that has struggled to maintain operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"If there's anything good that comes from this, it shines a light on the inequities in the system and may influence policymakers to take some action," Williams was quoted as saying.