Are you safer at a nursing home if they are not trying to get into your pocket? August 12, 2009

A recently published study in the British Medical Journal makes the point that not-for-profit nursing homes provide better care for their residents than nursing homes motivated by profit.  The study concluded that the not-for-profit nursing homes had more and higher quality staffing, fewer in-house acquired pressure ulcers, less frequent use of restraints and were found deficient by licensing authorities less often.

The authors contend the evidence demonstrates that nursing home residents in the United States would have 7,000 fewer pressure ulcers if they were cared for by not-for-profit homes. This is a significant number because bedsores can become life threatening when infected and are always painful.

Unfortunately, the decision about whether your family members will be safe in a particular nursing home is simply too difficult. The study results do suggest that one of the factors you should take into consideration in making your decision is whether the nursing home is for profit or not-for-profit. Unfortunately the study’s results were based on statistics relating to a wide population of nursing homes and its conclusions are less helpful when considering a particular nursing home.

For example two not-for-profit nursing homes in the Daytona Beach area are rated for quality quite differently by state government inspectors.  Good Samaritan Society-Daytona is affiliated with the not-for-profit Lutheran Good Samaritan Society. Bishops Glen Retirement Center is affiliated with the not-for-profit United Church of Christ.

As of the date of this article while Bishop’s Glen is rated three stars out of 5 for overall inspection by the State of Florida it has the highest five-star rating for items important in the study results, pressure ulcers and restraints and abuse. Good Samaritan Society, on the other hand, has the lowest ranking, only one star, for overall inspection, the lowest ranking for pressure ulcers and the lowest ranking for restraints and abuse. Thus, one of the not for profits is in the bottom 20% for quality of care while the other is highly ranked.

For much more information about how to choose a nursing home visit our website at zqlawyers.com.