Davis Law Group, P.S.

Are Not-For-Profit Nursing Homes Better Than Investor-Owned Homes?

You may not know this, but two-thirds of nursing homes are investor-owned meaning they are for-profit business. The results of an analysis suggest that not-for-profit nursing home may provide higher quality care to its patients.

The analysis looked at 82 different studies that were conducted between 1965 and 2003 in the United States and Canada. Forty of the studies show much better quality in the not-for-profit homes. Just three studies showed the quality was better in investor-owned nursing homes. The remaining studies had mixed results.

The authors note that the nursing homes vary a great deal in their management styles, organizational behavior and motivation, regardless of them being for-profit or not-for-profit.

When looking at the analysis as a whole, it found that nursing home residents nationwide would receive 500,000 more hours of nursing care per day if all not-for-profit institutions provided all nursing home care.

The authors also say that the report is not a general way to judge the nursing homes.

"Some for-profit institutions may provide excellent quality care, whereas some not-for-profit institutions may provide inferior quality care."

The authors also believe that more research should be done in order to determine the quality of nursing homes, due to the concern of families worrying about their loved ones.