Utilization of nursing home resources.

The total use and cost of nursing homes in Manitoba, for the fiscal year 1991/1992 were analyzed using a population-based health information system. The use of hospital beds by elderly patients for stays of 60 days or more was also analyzed to see if long hospital stays were substituting for nursing home beds. More than one in ten Manitobans 75 years of age and older and one in three who were 85 years and older resided in a nursing home for some time during the study period. The nursing home sector is characterized by none of the marked differences previously found in hospital use across the southern regions of the province, whose residents are similar in health and need characteristics. A single entry system, combined with a population-based planning approach, appears to provide equitable access to care across the province.