Those working within aged care warn the Baby Boomers are coming - which will put extra stress on a sector that has already reached crisis point.
In 20 years' time, our aging population is expected to have tripled and there are concerns Aotearoa may not have the staff nor the infrastructure to meet demand.
The dementia care unit in Ross Home is the latest to succumb to severe staff shortages.
"The reality is we are experiencing a crisis," chief executive of Presbyterian Support Otago Jo O'Neill said.
Sixteen residents now need to go elsewhere, some of them outside Otago and away from their families.
"It's an extremely sad situation. It's a 26-bedded unit but due to staffing we haven't had all of those beds open."
And the Ross Home isn't alone, as more than 1000 beds throughout the country have closed this year.
Age Care Association chief executive Simon Wallace told Newshub he'd "rather close beds than compromise the quality of care".
But while the number of beds decreases, the aging population continues to increase.
"In New Zealand, we have 90,000 people over the age of 85 - that's set to treble in 20 years' time."
That's a quarter of a million people over 85 who may need a bed in a care centre - a place to live that provides healthcare.
"Right now there are 40,000 beds in care homes around the country but the projections are that that will double."
Ryman Healthcare is trying its best to meet the demand with 16 new builds in the works right now, each one taking roughly five years to complete.
Its chief executive Cheyne Chalmers told Newshub the "Baby Boomers are coming".
"We know that New Zealand is under-serviced in terms of care beds."
Larger providers like Ryman Healthcare are able to support its care homes by selling independent living.
"This is a real tension in New Zealand's health system at the moment, is that essentially the funding for care in care centres isn't covering the full cost of the care."
The Government says several measures are already in place to recruit more internationally qualified nurses, for both the public and private sector.
"The demand is absolutely there the demand will only grow from here but the reality is the number of aged care beds simply will not," said O'Neill.
A catch-22 where the beds need to be built, but they can't remain open unless there's enough staff.
