You’d think it was obvious that nursing homes run by non-profit organizations are better than investor based for-profit nursing homes. If you’ve visited both kinds of operations lately, you know it is. This was recently trumped in the headline of an LA Times article, announcing the results of a nursing home examination published in the British Medical Journal. The paper was a study of studies. Of 82 studies of nursing homes between 1965 and 2003, measuring 4 primary quality care measures (staffing ratios, lower pressure ulcer prevalence, physical restraint and regulatory deficiencies), almost 50% (40) analyses found better staffing and fewer “bed sores” in non-profits, compared to less than 4% (3) for-profit nursing homes. The rest of the studies were and the other two measures were statistically insignificant.
Reporter Shari Roan, wrote that two-thirds of all US nursing homes are for-profit businesses. These places have the singular goal of making greater profits for investors. Roan, however, asked the question as if the simple fact that there are so many more for-profits leads to the assumption that they are better. The paper on papers provides more than a suggestion (Roan’s word), emphatically declaring by a huge statistical margin that non-profit nursing homes provide higher quality care overall.
The authors of the journal article mention that statistical analyses may not account for the tremendous variations in both profit and non-profit nursing homes. The variations are found in how facilities are managed, what motivates staff and the organizational culture or behavior. This led to their retreat from what was found to be obvious, diluting the report by stating that it is not a blanket judgment of all institutions. However, Roan refocuses readers on the big picture of the analysis that found nursing home residents in the United States would receive 500,000 more hours of nursing care per day if all not-for-profit institutions provided all nursing home care.
Roan ends with an excellent suggestion. “Given the costs of nursing home care and the fears families have about the well-being of their loved ones, more research describing the qualities of superior nursing homes might be in order.” Families should be doing their own investigations. See several earlier blogs on this site that can help. Find more on our website, www.nc-law.com
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Posted by: brennessel | October 27, 2009 at 06:45 AM