Report Finds Non-Profit Nursing Homes Offer Better Care

A new study published in the online edition of the British Medical Journal suggests that elderly people are more likely to receive better nursing home care in a non-profit facility than in a "for-profit" nursing home.

The report reviewed 82 observational studies in the United States and Canada between 1965 and 2003. The analysis found that, in general, non-profit nursing homes provided a higher quality of care to its residents, with higher staffing, less use of physical restraints, and less citations for deficiencies during an inspection.  Furthermore, residents in non-profit nursing homes tended to have fewer bedsores than those in for-profit facilities.

Researches involved in the study estimate that U.S. nursing home residents would receive 500,000 more hours of care per day if all of the country's nursing homes were run by non-profit agencies and organizations.  The study found that only one-third of nursing homes in the U.S. are non-profit.

The study substantiates a 2008 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that found that 94 percent of for-profit nursing homes had received a citation for deficiencies, compared with only 88 percent of non-profit homes.

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