The nursing home market - Italy

In Italy, there are different levels of care and different types of medical and residential facilities for the self-sufficient, non-self-sufficient or partially self-sufficient elderly. The nursing home, in particular, is a residential health care facility aimed at elderly people who are self-sufficient or partially self-sufficient and suffering from acute or serious illnesses and therefore in need of specialized care. The nursing home houses medical and health care staff, but does not provide 24-hour coverage, as is the case in Italian healthcare residences (residenze sanitarie assistenziali, RSAs). Thus, the nursing home is a middle ground between an RSA used to house non-self-sufficient elderly people and a rest home. The latter residential facility is used to house the self-sufficient elderly. Most nursing homes are private and for that reason, stay in them is conditional on the payment of a fee by either the guest himself or his family members. The value of the global market is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 7.2 percent and reach a value of $592.10 billion by 2030. The latest analysis by the Ministry of Health shows that the Italian nursing home market consists of about 549 accredited and non-accredited facilities. In addition, the geographical distribution of nursing homes on the Italian territory is not uneven: three regions, namely Lazio, Lombardy, and Campania obtain the absolute primacy by providing almost 50 percent of the total number of accredited nursing homes. The strong growth of the sector also explains the growing interest of many investors in these facilities as a form of investment.