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This month's American Journal of Nursing contains an interesting article entitled "Care Suffers When Nursing Homes Switch to a For-Profit Status". I don't believe it is the intention of the McHenry County Board to make Valley Hi a for-profit entity but just to bring the budget under better control. However there is always the temptation to save more and more money and then at some point patient (resident) care is compromised. So one has to be very diligent in pursuing saving vs. patient welfare.
Researchers from Harvard University took a look at changes in payer mix, staffing ratios, occupancy rates, and a spectrum of quality control indicators. What they found was nursing homes that tended to deviate from the "non-profit" side of the spectrum towards to "for profit' side generally provided lower quality care.
According to Charlene Harrington, professor of sociology and nursing in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). "Literature has confirmed that nonprofit institutions are much better in general," she said. "They have higher staffing, higher wages, and lower turnover of employees. Those factors are important in ensuring that patients receive better quality care."
I hope that the Board of Directors of Valley Hi, its current administrator and the McHenry County Board keep a close eye not only on the bottom line but also the quality indicators for the sake of the health and care of the residents of Valley Hi....I am sure they will.
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1 comment:
A step between non-profit status and for-profit status is when a non-profit organization is run by a for-profit corporation. That professional management operation might be highly motivated to make its "bottom line", and then cost-cutting begins. Expenses are cut, meals are trimmed down, lower-cost help is hired, higher-paid more-experienced help is "encouraged" to depart, etc.
So the dangers are not avoided by remaining as a non-profit.
A County-operated care facility must remain that - a "care" facility. We cannot tolerate service that heads downhill. To meet increasing expenses, we all must ante up. The problem is, no one wants to pay more in taxes.
There is, unfortunately, then the choice. You just warehouse the old folks and park them in wheelchairs and corners, or you cough up more money for staff and services.
The choice is obvious. The action that follows may not support it.
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