A recent study reported in the Newark Star Ledger and a number of other papers has revealed that New Jersey nursing home residents are more likely to be sent to the hospital, rather than being treated in the nursing home in comparison to nursing home residents in other states. The research further concluded that moving nursing home residents to hospitals, unfortunately, increased their risk of infection, led to disorientation and increased the frailty of the elderly. This is a disturbing study which will require additional attention. The study concluded that based upon data from the year 2000, 23.3% of New Jersey’s nursing home residents were hospitalized during a five month period – making this the highest rate in the northeast. The national average is actually only 17.4%, with Utah having the lowest rate at 8.4%. It was additionally concluded that “many hospitalizations of long-term residents are attributable to problems that could have been prevented with adequate medical care or oversight.”