{"id":3716,"date":"2016-11-29T15:12:31","date_gmt":"2011-11-29T22:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=3716"},"modified":"2011-11-29T15:12:31","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T22:12:31","slug":"nursing-homes-l1129","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/nursing-homes-l1129\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Largest for-profit nursing homes may not provide best care"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Picking between a nursing home or a home health service<\/a> is tough.\u00a0 There are a lot of factors that are considered including cost, location and quality of care. Recently, a new study reveals some shocking results; the nation\u2019s largest for-profit nursing homes<\/a> deliver significantly lower quality of care because they typically have fewer staff nurses than non-profit and government-owned nursing homes.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s behind the findings?<\/strong>
\nThe research, conducted by the University of California San Francisco, is the first-ever study focusing solely on staffing and quality at the 10 largest for-profit chains.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoor quality of care is endemic in many nursing homes, but we found that the most serious problems occur in the largest for-profit chains,\u201d said first author Charlene Harrington, RN, PhD and professor of sociology and nursing at the UCSF School of Nursing said.<\/p>\n

Low nurse staffing levels are considered the strongest predictor of poor nursing home quality and that is where many of the nursing homes fell short.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe top 10 chains have a strategy of keeping labor costs low to increase profits,\u201d Harrington said. \u201cThey are not making quality a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"What are the top 10 nursing homes?<\/strong>
\nThe 10 largest for-profit chains in 2008 were HCR Manor Care, Golden Living, Life Care Centers of America, Kindred Healthcare, Genesis HealthCare Corporation, Sun Health Care Group, Inc., SavaSeniorCare LLC, Extendicare Health Services, Inc., National Health Care Corporation, and Skilled HealthCare, LLC.<\/p>\n

What can be done?<\/strong>
\nResearchers advise everyone to do their homework.\u00a0 Make sure the nursing home you are selecting has adequate staffing and has recommendations from other families in your area.\u00a0 Tour the facilities and ask questions of those working in and outside of the facility.<\/p>\n

Researchers believe there should be greater accountability and quality oversight to improve nursing care, along with effective funding incentives and sanctions for low staffing and poor quality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picking between a nursing home or a home health service is tough.\u00a0 There are a lot of factors that are considered including cost, location and quality of care. Recently, a new study reveals some shocking results; the nation\u2019s largest for-profit nursing homes deliver significantly lower quality of care because they typically have fewer staff nurses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-health-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t