Why Care Standards Vary Across Nursing Homes and What It Means for You 

Not all nursing homes are the same, and the differences go way past amenities and location. If you’re thinking about moving your loved one into a nursing facility, there’s a good chance you’ve already gone over tens of articles on how to choose correctly. And that’s great because that’s not what this one will be about, at least not all of it.

The thing is, while you’re checking on the basics like the number of staff and how the rooms look, you might be missing an important factor – whether the facility is for-profit or non-profit. 

The difference between these two types can be huge. Have you noticed how some nursing homes seem like they’re stretched too thin and others have successfully created a positive, safe environment?

Usually, this comes down to management and resource allocation. Care standards vary like crazy, and in this article, you’ll see how to make sense of it.

The Two Models of Nursing Homes

Generally, there are two types of nursing homes – for-profit and non-profit. For-profit nursing homes are owned by private companies and their goal is to create financial returns for their owners or shareholders. In simpler terms, they’re in it for the money. 

Typically, these types of nursing homes bank on revenue from Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers (plus donations), so their primary aim is cost containment. One of the major concerns associated with for-profit nursing homes is that in order to reduce costs, management may make certain choices that are harmful to the care rendered to residents.

This can be cutting back on staffing, training, or upgrades to the facility. On the other hand, you have non-profit nursing homes. They’re mostly run by charitable organizations or government entities. 

Their goal is to reinvest the revenue into the facility to improve their services and, with that, the quality of care they provide to the residents. They don’t have the pressure to deliver profits, so their decisions can be focused on the well-being of their residents instead of making money. When you take a look at the operational goals of these two models, you see a complete contrast.

One model is all about making money; the other is about caring for the residents. 

What Drives the Changes in Care Standards

The quality of care the nursing home provides depends on many things, but it can be summed up as managing resources, setting priorities, and how they uphold compliance standards.

For-profit and non-profit facilities have different approaches, so it only makes sense that their standards vary.

1. Utilizing Resources

Striving for maximum financial return on their operations, for-profit nursing homes also focus on minimizing wage bills, staff training expenses/costs, and capital investment in equipment. 

To think that every for-profit nursing home is evil and is consumed by capitalist/corporate greed simply because they embrace the idea of turning profits would be misleading (to say the least). Sure, there will be such institutions, of course. However, there will also be for-profits that provide excellent services to their customers.

With non-profit facilities, things are different. The money they get is put right back into the facility to improve their services and provide better care to the residents.

2. Staffing and Training

This category shows one of the most noticeable disparities between the two models.

For-profit facilities often have lower staff-to-patient ratios, which can result in staff that’s overworked and less personalized care for residents. Both the staff and the residents suffer in these conditions.

Non-profit nursing homes usually have better staffing ratios and they have more opportunities for staff development. The atmosphere is more supportive and the staff can interact with residents better.

3. Compliance Standards

There are regulatory standards in place to make sure nursing homes provide safe, adequate care. But that doesn’t mean that all facilities comply with them.

For-profit nursing homes usually only care to meet the minimum requirements and it’s only because they want to avoid paying fines. As a result, the type of care they provide can be inconsistent.

Non-profits usually want to deliver exceptional care because that’s their goal. They’ll go beyond the standards because profit isn’t their priority.

4. Sources of Funding

The nursing home’s financial structure plays a big part in its care standards.

For-profit homes count on reimbursements from the government through programs like Medicare and Medicaid, but since they want to optimize those payments, their level of care can be limited.

Non-profits get donations and grants to keep them running, as well as government funding, so they can offer better services and invest in things that benefit their residents.

Conclusion

The situation isn’t black and white here so, while there are for-profits that provide terrible service, there are also those that provide excellent ones.

The same goes for non-profits; however, the fact is for-profits care (only) about the money they make, while non-profits are the complete opposite. Before choosing a facility, you’ll need to do your research, but it’s good to know how these differ and what you can (generally) expect.