Nursing home closings can have serious negative effects on residents. Many residents experience transfer trauma (also referred to as relocation stress syndrome). The response to the stress caused by a transfer or relocation may include depression, manifesting as agitation; increase in withdrawn behavior; self-care deficits; falls; and weight loss. Closures, and these responses to the stress of moving are occurring nationwide, and may be due to the fact that the closure of nursing homes seems to be inadequately addressed in state and federal laws and regulations and/or poor oversight and monitoring by states and the federal government. When closures are inevitable, better policies and practices can be implemented to minimize the negative impact, including transfer trauma, on residents.