ABSTRACT
It is often said that only 4% or, at the most, 5% of the elderly in the United States are to be found in nursing homes and other extended care facilities. Evidence to support this statement is not lacking. Riley and Foner [1] used United States census data for 1960 to show that only 2.4% of Americans over the age of 65 were residing in homes for the aged and dependent. The percentage of institutionalized could be increased to 3.7% if other kinds of group quarters and extended care facilities are included in the total. It could be increased again to 4.8% if those in mental hospitals are also included. Population data for 1965, also summarized by Riley and Foner, yielded a similar picture. Slightly less than 4% of Americans over the age of 65 were residing in group facilities or institutions. This information is adequate for the purposes of the present paper, although more recent population statistics are becoming available.
